THE 



COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL: 



BEING A 



COMPILATION OF FACTS 

FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES 



ON THE 



CULTURE OF COTTON; 



ITS NATURAL HISTORY, CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, 
TRADE, AND CONSUMPTION; 

AND EMBRACING A 



HISTORY OF COTTON AND THE COTTON GIN. 

BY J. APT URN BR. 



NEW YOEK: 
C. M. SAXTON ANDCOMPANY, 

AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, 
No. 140 FULTON STREET. 

1857. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 

J[. SAXTON & COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
Southern District of New York. 



K D W A U D O . JENKINS, 

i3r;ntcr anti .Stcrcotgpcr, 
26 Frankfort St. 



£'t> 



PREFACE. 

This book Is a compilation. It makes no pretensions what- 
ever to originality. All compilations must, from the very 
nature of things, he imperfect ; therefore this book is imper- 
fect. One of two plans I Lad to adopt, either to write an 
entirely original work, or compile one from the writings of 
others. Had I adopted the former plan, I might, it is true, 
' hiwe produced a more compact work, a more systematic 
, reatise, in a more uniform style ; but it is a question whether 
would have made so valuable a volume as the one I present 
you. What might have been gained in the graces of composi- 
tion, or the system of a well-digested treatise, might have 
been lost in my want of experience in all the departments I 
have presented you, to make a proper volume. It is quite 
easy to fill a given number of pages, but to make those pages 
useful and practical, is quite another thing. I thought it best, 
therefore, because it would be more useful to cotton planters, 
to compile the best authorities on the subject of which I treat. 
The difficulties of selecting from such a mass of writings as 
I have had before me, and of so arranging the selections when 
made, as to form of them a compact volume, will be appreciat- 
ed by every one — especially by those who have had ex- 
perience in compiling ; and yet I must be permitted to say 

[3] 



IV PREFACE. 

that I think I have so far succeeded in the task I undertook, 
as to have given you all the most important knowledge which 
has been arrived at, with reference to the culture, consump- 
tion, and trade of one of the most important staples produced 
in the wide fields of agricultural labor. Not only is this an 
important book to the cotton planter, but to almost every 
class it will bear knowledge which it will be useful to have. 
The general reader will find in its pages many things with 
which he w^ould be pleased to be acquainted. 

This book is divided into eight chapters, as follows : 

I. The Ordinary Methods of Cotton Culture. 
II. Dr. N. B. Cloud's Improved System of Cotton 
Culture. 

III. The Natural History of Cotton — Its Species 

AND Varieties. 

IV. Diseases and Insects Destructive of Growth 

OF Cotton. 

V. Analyses of the Cotton Plant, with Suggestions 
AS TO Manures, etc. 

VI. The Consumption of Cotton — Uses of the vari- 
ous PARTS OF THE PlANT — ThE CoTTON TrADE 

from 1S25 TO 1850. By Prof. McKay. 
VII. The Cotton Trade from 1850 to 1855. 
VIII. History of Cotton and the Cotton Gin. 

In a compilation such as this, it wall not be surprising if 
the different chapters sometimes run into each other; that is, 



PREFACE. V 

in some of the articles wMcli are published under one head, 
there may be found sotne things which would more appro- 
priately fall under another head. The locality of each 
article, however, had to be determined by the complexion of 
the major part of that article. 

It will be seen that I have given the article of Professor 
McKay, on the cotton trade, from the year 1825 to 1850, both 
inclusive. Then follows a document, compiled in the State 
Department of the United States, which takes up the cotton 
trade where Professor McKay left it, and brings it down to 
the year 1855. 

The articles which go to make up this volume, I have com- 
piled from various sources. I am under particular obligations 
to the Southern Cultivator^ Soil of tJie South, and American 
Cotton Planter — especially the first. 

Errors have, in all probability, crept into this work, I in- 
vite communications from the pens of my brother planters, so 
that I may make a more complete treatise in a future edition 
of this book, or another volume. 

I trust that the planting interest of the South will liberally 
patronize the publishers who have so liberally stepped forward 
to give them the first volume ever published on the culture 
of their all-important staple. 

J. A. TUENEE. 

Turnwold, Putnam Co., Ga., } 
Dec. 10, 1856. S 



Digitized by tine Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/cottonplantersmaOOturn 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEE I. 

THE ORDINARY METHODS OF COTTON CULTURE. 

1. Chambers's Premium Essay on the Culture of Cotton, 2. Ex-Gov. Hammond's Ee- 
port on Cotton, with a Note from the South- Western Farmer. 3. " Colo" to Hon. 
John C. Calhoun, on the Culture of Cotton. 4. Dr. M. W. Philips's Four Numbers on 
the Culture of Cotton. 5. "Wm. Summer's Eeport on Cotton. 6. Eeporfc of the Union 
(S. C.) Agricultural Society on Cotton, , - 11—52 

CHAPTEE 11. 

DR. N. B. cloud's IMPROVED SYSTEM OF COTTON CULTURE. 

1. Method of Manuring, Planting and Tilling. 2. The Principles and Philosophy of 
the System, 8. Experiments in Manuring. 4. System of Eotation in Cotton Culture. 
5 System of Eotation in Cotton Culture continued. 6. Compost Manure, Stock- 
Yard, etc., - 53-93 

CHAPTEE III. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON — ITS SPECIES AND VARIE- 
TIES. 

1. Different Species of Cotton. 2. The Cotton Plant— Sea Island Cotton, a Varieties 
of Cotton Seed. By Dr. Philips. 4. Sugar Loaf Cotton. 5. Dr. Philips on Improved 
Cotton Seed. 6. Dr. Philips on Improved Cotton Seed continued. 7. Banana Cotton 



yiii CONTEXTS. 

Seed. 8. Silk Cotton. 9. Muitiflora Cotton— Money -Bush. 10. Dr. Philips on Varieties 
of Cotton Seed. 11. Scraper and Cotton Seed. 12. The Different Yarieties of Cotton 
Seed. 13. Cotton Seed Speculations. 14. Agricultural Humbugs. 15. Sea Island 
Cotton Planting. 16. Sea Island Cotton Statistics, 17. Sea Island Cotton Planting. 

94—186 



CHAPTER lY. 

DISEASES AND INSECTS DESTKUCTIVE OF THE COTTON 
PLANT. 

1. De Bow's Keview on the Cotton Worm. 2. Professor Harper on the Eust. 3. The 
Boll-Worm. 4. Cut- Worm. 5. Destroying the Cotton-Moth. 6. The Boll-Worm and 
"Sore Shin" in Cotton. 7. Birds vs. Insects. 8. Another Plea for the Birds. 91 Eed. 
Eust and Brown Eust. 10. "Blue Cotton." 11. The Dry Eot in Cotton. 12. Eot in 
Cotton, 137—182 



CHAPTER Y. 



ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT, WITH SUGGESTIONS AS 

TO MANURES, ETC. 

1. Shepard's Analysis of Cotton Seed and Cotton "Wool. 2. Analysis of the Cotton 
Plant and Seed, with Suggestions as to management, etc. By Thomas J. Summer. 
8. Eeport on the Analysis of Cotton and its Soil. By Messrs. Higgins and Bickell. 

183—215 



CHAPTER YI. 

COTTON CONSUMPTION AND COTTON TRADE — COTTON TRADE 
FROM 1825 TO 1850.* BY PROFESSOR MCKAY, LATE OF 
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. 

1. Cotton Bagging. 2. Cotton Beds — A good suggestion. 3. A New Use for Cotton. 
4. Domestic Bagging and Blankets. 5. Cotton Eigging for Ships. 6. Paper from the 
Bark of Cotton. 7. Cotton Seed Oil. 8. Cotton Seed as a Manure. 9. Feeding Hogs 
with Cotton Seed. 10. Cotton Seed. 11. Feeding Sheep on Cotton Seed. 12. Cotton 
Seed aa Food for Stock. 13. The Cotton Trade from 1825 to 1850. By Professor McKay. 
1 {. Cotton Stalk Hemp, 216— 24S 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER VII. 

LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, 

Transmitting a Statement respecting the Tariff Duties and Custom-house Eegulations, 
applicable to American Cotton, etc., 249—276 

CHAPTER Vni. 

HISTORY OF COTTON AND THE COTTON GIN. 



1. Brief History of Cotton. 2. Thomas Spalding on the Cotton Gin and the Introduc- 
tion of Cotton. 3. Nathan Lyons. 4. Origin of the Cotton Gin. 5. Statistics of Cotton. 
6. Cotton Gin and Packing Screws. 7. History of the Cotton Gin. ?. Eli Whitney. 

277—320 



COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



CHAPTER I. 

SECTION I. — chambers' PREMIUM ESSAY. 

The following " Essay on the Treatment and Cultivation 
of Cotton," was read before the Southern Central Agricultu- 
ral Association of Georgia, in 1852, by Col. James M. Cham- 
bers, then editor of the " Soil of the South,'' an agricultural 
journal, published in Columbus, Ga. It took the premium 
which was offered by the Association for the best Essay on 
the subject of which it treats. No more fitting article could 
be found with which to open this work. Col. Chambers is an 
intelligent man, and has always been an eminently practical 
and successful planter. Implicit confidence may be placed in 
his views. 

The cotton plant is hard to be suited, in soil and in climate, 
and it rarely happens that such a combination of both is ob- 
tained, as to perfect the plant and mature the crop. The 
consequence is, that few spots are found, where these results 
are obtained with any degree of uniform success ; but these 
do exist, to just such an extent as to demonstrate most con- 
clusively that soils in proper localities are to be found, exactly 

suited to the successful culture of this delicate plant. With a 

[11] 



12 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

knowledge of this fact, it becomes a matter of prime import- 
ance, to understand what these peculiarities of soil are, and 
where deficiencies exist, to search them out — and by artificial 
means, as far as it may be practicable, to correct or cure these 
defects of the soil in its natural state. We may not hope to 
remedy all the imperfections, yet it is the province of the cul- 
tivator to approximate as nearly as possible, and by prepara- 
tion and culture, to endeavor to meet these peculiar wants of 
the plant. The first inquiry which presents itself is, to know 
what are the peculiarities of those soils which suit the growth 
and maturity of cotton. Experience is perhaps the safest and 
most reliable test, in the settlement of this question, and it is 
now pretty universally conceded, that our best cotton lands 
are those which are of deep and soft mold, a sort of medium 
between the sandy and spongy, and those soils which are hard 
and close — those which are penetrated by the warming rays 
of the sun, imbibing readily the stimulating gases of the 
atmosphere, and which allow the excess of rain water to settle 
so deep into the earth, as to lie at a harmless distance below 
the roots of the young plant. These are the properties of soil 
needful to the vigorous growth and early maturity of the cotton 
plant ; and the knowledge of this fact is of great, and perhaps 
I might add, indispensable importance, to its successful cul- 
tivation. For though we may not find, and indeed it is very 
improbable that we should often find, all these essentials in 
the selection of a farm, yet by the aid of the plough, the hoe, 
and the spade, and the incorporation of foreign substances, we 
may remedy many defects, and supply many of the peculiar 
demands of this plant. These are all preliminaries to be 
aiTanged and understood, and from this point, we set out to 
discuss the question, as to the best methods of cultivating the 
cotton crop. It may already have been inferred, but I am 
not willing to leave it to inference, but make the assertion, 



chambers' premium essay. 13 

that in my opinion, tlie best and most important part of the 
work, in cotton making, consists in a judicious and proper 
preparation of the soil for planting. It is difficult to say in 
all cases, and in the varied condition in which lands are found, 
and the diversity of soils, what the process of preparation 
should be; but we may lay down general principles for our 
government, and results to be obtained, and leave the planters 
to the selection of the best means at command for their accom- 
plishment. All lands for cotton, ought, before the crop is 
planted, to be broken deep, close and soft, and this to be done 
long enough before planting, to allo\7 the rains gently to settle 
them. V It is the most common, and perhaps the best plan, to 
prepare all lands intended for cotton, in beds made by the 
turning-plough ; and in flat and wet lands, sometimes an ad- 
ditional elevation ought to be given, by drawing up the beds 
with the hoe. I think, in this work, we have often followed 
too much the example of our neighbor, and have looked toa 
little to reason, in the indiscriminate bedding and high eleva- 
tion of all lands. I am the advocate of deep soft beds, made 
by very thorough and close ploughing, but cannot consent to 
the necessity or benefit, of elevating much, lands which are 
warm and dry, and which are not subject to inundations from 
excessive rains. For the convenience of culture, I would have 
the young cotton stand on a slight elevation, but when the con- 
dition of the land did not require it, I would not give it more. 

The distance to be given is the next inquiry to be consider- 
ed. This is a very important object, and one upon Avhicli we 
are very dependent for success, and yet it must be varied 
very much by circumstances, some of which are beyond our 
knowledge or control. The general principle may be stated, 
and then our best judgment must guide us in its application. 

When the crop is at maturity, the branches of the stalks 
ought slightly to interlock every way. We cannot, therefore, 



14 

do better in planting, than make an estimate of the probable 
average size to which the weed will grow, dependent, of course 
upon the vicissitudes of the seasons. It would, therefore, be 
vain to attempt to be more specific in directions, which must 
be varied always to suit the varied character of the soil. This 
whole question then, is to be settled upon the principle already- 
stated. The planting should be in drills, chiefly because of 
the difficulty of obtaining good stands in hills ; and I would 
add, for the information of those who may be without expe- 
rience, that in the common medium lands of the country, 
these rows ought ordinarily to be about four feet apart, and 
the stalks in the drill should be thinned, so as to stand from 
fifteen to twenty inches from each other. The width of the 
rows and the distance in the drill, may be increased upon 
better lands, and in some cases of very thin lands, it may fall 
a little below the distances designated. I do not regard it a 
matter of indispensable importance, but should decidedly pre- 
fer that the rows should run in such direction as to give the 
plant the largest benefit of the sun from early morn to its 
setting. The cotton is decidedly a sun plant. 

The Mode of Planting. — Here we have many plans, all 
setting up claims to some peculiar merit. With the prepara- 
tion which I have indicated, it would hardly be necessary to 
stop to discuss the relative merits of these modes, or seek to 
do more for the accomplishment of our purpose, than to select 
some one, which we know to answer well. I therefore ad- 
vise the use of some small and very narrow plough, for the 
opening furrow. This should be run in the centre of the 
bed, opening a straight furrow of uniform size and depth. In 
this the seed should be strewed by some careful hand, scat- 
tering them uniformly along the furrow, just thick enough to 
secure a good stand the whole length of the row. These I 
would cover with a board, made of some hard wood, an inch 



-chambers' premium essay. 15 

or an incli and a-half thick, about eight inches broad, and 
thirty inches long, beveled on the lower edge so as to make 
it sharp, slightly notched in the middle so as to straddle the 
row, with a hole bored in the centre one inch from the upper 
edge, and screwed on the foot of a common shovel or scooter 
plough stock. This wooden scraper and coverer, when drawn 
over the row, covers the seed nicely, leaving a slight eleva- 
tion to prevent the settling of water, and dresses the whole 
surface of the bed neatly, for the space of fifteen inches on 
each side of the drill. Thus all clods or obstructions are re- 
moved, and a clean space is left wide enough for the passage 
of the plough in the first working between the young cotton 
and the rough land. This is an advantage of much import- 
ance with a crop so tender and small as cotton at this stage. 

I have now conducted the operator, by a regular series, 
to the closing operation of planting the crop. And here I 
may be permitted to remark, that fine returns are sometimes 
obtained with much less preparation. These are results from 
the accidents of season, and not the due reward of well-di- 
rected culture ; a prize drawn from the lottery, against which 
there are many blanks ; a demonstration of the futility and 
uncertainty of all the best laid schemes of man. I pause be- 
fore taking the next step.-.' In this age of improvement, with 
scrapers and cultivators, and all the endless variety of labor- 
saving ploughs, and amid advocates for hard-culture and soft- 
culture, and high-ways and by-ways, for making the crop, 
*' who shall resolve the doubt when all pretend to know ?'' 
and who shall decide, with such differences among doctors, 
who is right ? and who can pretend to say what number of 
acres to a hand will constitute a crop with such varied modes 
of culture ? I shall proceed upon the supposition, that a 
plentiful supply of provisions are to be made on the farm, and 
then set down as a good cotton crop, ten acres to the hand ; 



16 

under favorable circumstances, a little more may be culti- 
vated, and on some lands less. Upon this basis, I proceed. 
As soon as the young- cotton is up to a good stand, and the 
third and fourth leaves begin to appear, the operation may 
commence. In lands which are smooth and soft, I incline to 
the opinion, that the hoes should precede the ploughs, chopping 
into bunches, passing very rapidly on, and let a careful plough- 
man follow, on each side of the drill, throwing a little light 
dirt into the spaces made by the hoe, and a little also about 
the roots of the cotton, covering and leaving covered, all small 
grass which may have sprung up. This is, indeed, the merit 
claimed for the operation, that after the hoes have passed, 
the ploughs come on and effectually cover and destroy the 
coat of young grass then up. This is known to practical 
planters, to be the crop of grass which escapes the hoe, and 
does mischief to the cotton. But when the land is so rough 
as to endanger the covering of the cotton with the plough, the 
operation must be reversed, and the hoes follow the ploughs. 
As all that is now proposed to be done is, a very rapid super- 
ficial working, reducing the crop to bunches, soon to pass 
over and return again, for a more careful operation. This 
should be done as soon as possible, as will be indicated by the 
necessities of the case. The grass and the weeds must be 
kept down, and the stand of cotton reduced. At this first 
working, unless in lands already very soft, I should advise the 
siding to be close, and to ,be done with some plough which 
would break and loosen the earth deep about the roots of the 
young plant. Others may theorize as they choose, but with 
a plant sending out a tap root, upon which it so much relies, 
and striking so deep into the earth, as that of cotton, I shall 
insist upon its accommodation, by providing a soft, deep, mel- 
low bed, into which these roots may easily penetrate. In the 
second working, the ploughs should in all cases go before the 



17 

hoes, and in all lands at all tenacious or hard, let the work be 
deep and close again, and the middles of the row also be well 
broken np at this time. Now the hoes have an important 
and delicate duty to perform. The cotton is to be reduced 
nearly to a stand, though it is now rather early to be fully 
reduced. It is perhaps best to leave two stalks where one is 
intended to grow. The young stalk is very tender, and 
easily injured, by bruises and skins from rough and careless 
work, and it is much better to aid a little sometimes with the 
hand in thinning, than to spoil a good stand, by bruises from 
the hoc. The cut-worm and the louse are charged with many 
sins, which ought to be put down to the account of careless 
working, at this critical stage of the crop. The distance to 
be given I have before stated, and in the first operation of 
bunching, this ought to be looked to, and the spaces regulated 
accordingly. At this second passing over, the hoes must re- 
turn a little soft dirt to the foot of. the stalk, leaving it clean 
and supported. If this work is well done, the weed will grow 
on, without any necessity for further attention for some 
twenty days or three weeks, when the plough should return 
again. At this time, some plough should be used next the cot- 
ton, which will tumble the soft earth about the root, covering 
the small young grass, which may have sprung up since the 
last working, but the ploughing should be less close, and shal- 
lower, than at the former working. The hoes have much to 
do in the culture of this crop, and must be prepared to devote 
pretty much all their time to it, constantly passing over, and 
perfecting that which cannot be done with the ploughs, by 
thinning out surplus stalks, cleaning away remaining bunches 
of grass, stirring about the roots of the plant, and if need be, 
adding a little earth to them. It is difficult, in a treatise of 
this sort, to say how often, and in what manner, this crop 
shall always be worked, when the character of the seasons, and 



18 COTTOX planter's manual. 

tlie difference in the land, must have necessarily so much to 
do in settling this question. The general rule must be, to 
keep the earth loose and well stirred ; the early workings to 
be deep and close ; and as the crop comes on and the fruit 
begins to appear, let these workings be less close, and shal- 
lower, keeping the soil soft and clean. It is of great im- 
portance to work this crop late, and it should not cease until 
the branches lock or the cotton begins to open. I do not 
consider that it is necessary to pile the earth in large quantities 
about the roots of the cotton, but think the tendency of all 
the workings should be, to increase the quantity. 
"^ The selection of seed is an interest not to be disregarded. 
"We have been humbugged a great deal by dealers and specu- 
lators in this article, yet we would greatly err to conclude 
that no improvement could be made. We should, however, 
save ourselves from this sort of imposition, and improve our 
own seed, by going into, the field and picking each year, 
from some of the best formed and best bearing stalks, and 
thus keep up the improvement. Great benefits may ofteri 
be derived, by changes of seed in the same neighborhood, 
from differences of soil, and occasional changes from a distant 
and different climate may be made to, great advantage. 

The picking of cotton should commence just as soon as 
the hands can be at all profitably employed^: — say as soon as 
forty or fifty pounds to the hand can be gathered. It is of 
great importance, not only to the success of the work, but to 
the complexion and character of the staple, to keep well up, 
with this work, so that, as far as possible, it may be saved with- 
out exposure to rain. The embarrassments to picking when 
once behind, and a storm or heavy rain shall intervene, ming- 
ling it with the leaf, and tangling in the burr, are just as great, 
as to get behind it in the cultivation of the crop, when much 
additional labor will be required to accomplish the same object. 



19 

In the early pickings, when the seeds are green, some 
sunning is indispensably necessary ; but after more maturity 
and dryness, very little will be required. This must be de- 
termined very much by circumstances ; but dew or rain- 
water should always be removed, by drying upon the scaf- 
fold, before the cotton is bulked in the house. With proper 
care and attention, great improvement may be given to the 
complexion of the staple by a little heating in the bulk, ex- 
tracting the oil from the seed, and imparting a slight cream 
to the color. This process, however, must be conducted with 
great caution and care, lest the heating proceed too far, and 
injury be done. It is easity checked, by stirring and exposure 
to, the air. It is an advantage to all cotton to lie in the bulk 
before ginning, and we doubtless often lose much of this 
benefit for want of sufficient house-room. Indeed, I think it 
a very common error, in our plantation arrangements, not to 
build houses for this special object. The cotton, when gin- 
ned, ought to be so dry, that the seed will crack when 
pressed between the teeth. It is often ginned wetter, but 
just as often, the cotton samples blue. A gin should be 
used which will neither cut nor nap the cotton, but send out 
the fibre straight and smooth, so that when the samples are 
drawn, they will have the appearance of having been carded. 
This is greatly promoted by the largely increased number of 
brushes now added by the best manufacturers. 

The packing should be in square bales ; and, without 
reference to freight, or any of these mere incidental influ- 
ences, I think the weight of the bale should be fixed at 
about four hundred, or four hundred and twenty-five pounds ; 
to be in two breadths of wide bagging, pressed until the side 
seams are well closed, or a little lapped, and then secured 
with six good ropes, the heads neatly sewed in, so that when 
complete and turned out of the press, no cotton should be 



20 COTTOX PLANTERS MANUAL. 

seen exposed. These packages should be nearly square, for 
the greater beauty of the bales, but still more, for the greater 
convenience with which they may be handled and shipped, 
saving the necessity for tearing the bags, and giving a better 
guarantee that they will reach a distant market in good order. 

The crop is now made and ready for market, and as I 
have gone through with the labor of making, I hope I may 
be pardoned for manifesting a little interest as to its disposal, 
and therefore venture to offer a little advice on that subject. 
Create no liens on this crop, or necessity for selling. Never 
spend the money which it is to produce, until it is sold. You 
are then free to choose your own market, and time of selling ; 
and as cotton is a controlling article, it will generally regulate 
the value of all property to be purchased, except the redemp- 
tion of an outstanding promise. 

I might have said something about the topping of cotton, 
but all I could have done, would have been to put it down as 
a contingent operation, and doubtful in its effects upon the 
crop, I might also have descanted largely in the enumeration 
and description of insects and diseases peculiar to cotton, 
suggested some remedy, and swelled my essay, by a flourish 
in the dark, upon topics about which little is known ; but I 
have felt that it would be most in accordance with my plan, 
and certainly most with my feelings, to candidly confess my 
inability, and include these all under the head of Providen- 
tial contingencies, to which this crop is liable, and against 
which we may war and contend, but which will, after all, 
prove an overmatch for the energy, skill, or wisdom of man." 



GOVERNOR Hammond's report. 21 



SECTION II. — GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT. 

From the South-Western Farmer. 

We give at the conclusion of this notice, the Eeport of a 
Committee of which our friend, J. H. Hammond, was chair- 
man. We congratulate him on the knowledge of farming 
that he displays. We see how readily the educated and in- 
telligent can learn the business of farming. But a short time 
since, our old school-mate was up to his eyes in politics — he 
now retires to the field — there to live a quiet, peaceable life. 
We rejoice at it, and can but repeat the remark we made to 
him, before he was made Governor — " You are wrong — you 
have no business in that sphere — seek your ease and peace — 
it suits you better, and will give you satisfaction." His answer 
was then, as his works answer now : " 1 will do so as early as 
the force of circumstances will permit" — or to this purport 
were both. 

We again congratulate him, and also our country, in the 
success of our friend — we also press on all agriculturists any 
article from the pen of Hammond ; he will, we feel assured, 
give all matters that he writes on, his minute and particular 
attention. We have known him from both of our boyhoods, 
and know him to be talented and observing, and more than 
all, when he does apply himself, it is an application deserving 
and insuring success. 

As we are his senior in planting the cotton, especially in 
personal attention to it, we beg to give him a hint or two. 
We may err in our notions ; and why we say so, is, that we 
differ materially from so large a number of farmers. We 
think that very early planting is disadvantageous ; and to 
define early planting, we think the last week in March is 



22 

early enougli at any time, even for this year, when, it will be 
borne in mind, the fruit trees were quite green at that time; 
to plant as early as the 15th or 20th of March is " very early." 
We generally judge it to be time to plant corn when the 
"leaf of the oak is as large as the squirrel's ear;" many of 
our planters have planted cotton as early. We think cotton 
planted from the 1st to the 10th of April is early enough for 
old land, and have known by several crops that the later 
planting, say 10th, was considerably better than the early — 
we know this not only by our own weights and measures, but 
also by others. 

We would make an exception to early planting. New 
ground and rich fresh land, has such a tendency to make 
weed, that it is necessary to plant as early as a stand can be 
]iad — so all think; we would not object, but think that 
judicious culture would make a different result. We would 
act precisely as with the tree that produced wood instead of 
fruit — amputate the roots. We think that if the land has 
been broken up very early, and left to be consolidated by 
rains, then planted about the 5th to the 10th of April, thinned 
out as early as it was up, cultivate deep and late, that the 
stalks would set the fruit and ripen in time. Do we not thus 
with fruit trees, Irish potatoes, and sweet potatoes — the lat- 
ter two, by either cutting off tops, or feeding with calves ? 
And why not a similar practice with the cotton plant ? 

The cotton plant is a very tender plant if treated as it was 
some ten or fifteen years since — some three to six bushels of 
seed sown per acre, and not thinned out until the third leaf 
had appeared. It has been raised in a hot-bed, and no won- 
der it is tender; but if sown thinly, and then thinned out to 
single stalks, we think it a hardy plant. There is no use in 
trying the hardihood of the plant. It is unlike corn — it has 
a tap root, grows in dry weather, and unless the land has 



GOVERNOE Hammond's report. 23 

not been properly prepared, or remarkably dry, it will im- 
prove by hot or dry weatber — but corn having superficial 
roots, should be planted early as possible, that it may ripen 
before drought sets in. If cotton will make 1000 lbs. per acre, 
when planted late in May, there can be no fears to plant 10th 
April. The farmer can place his land in excellent order — 
have his corn cleaned handsomely, and when cotton is up, he 
can rush it to the utmost. We request our friend H. to plant 
one acre of cotton, even now, after his seeing this, on a piece 
of well-ploughed land, in the same field that he has now even 
scraped over; just open out furrows where the cotton now 
stands, which will destroy the cotton that has been scraped. 
Our impression is, that the difference will be very slight, and 
if adopted generally would give considerable time to manure, 
plough, and improve, instead of giving cotton the additional 
working necessary. The land that we have known planted 
late, would not, in average seasons, make anything like one- 
third more, by early planting, and if the extra labor was ap- 
plied to improving it, we doubt, if it would yield as much. 
Understand, we do not advocate either late or early plant- 
ing — that is, after the 25th of April or before 1st — and only 
wish to show there is not so vast a difference between planting 
1st of April and 1st of May. What would be the gain to any 
farm by the extra month's work ? 



Report of the Committee of the Barnwell Agricultural 
Society, on the Culture of Cotton. 

The ground cannot be too well prepared for Cotton. — If it 
had rested one year, it should be broken flush, as early in the 
previous fall as possible, and spaded just before planting. If 
it has rested two years, or been planted the preceding year, 



24 COTTON planter's manual. 

let it be listed as early as it can be done, and two furrows 
thrown upon the list. Immediately upon planting, let two 
more furrows be thrown up, and balk broken out completely. 
The common method of running three furrows, and planting 
on it, throws the winter's portion of the crop-work upon the 
laborer, during crop time, and is inexcusable, unless heavy 
clearings are absolutely required. The reason for not listing 
after one year's rest, is, that the vegetable matter will be 
too abundant and too coarse to form a substratum to receive 
the tap root. 

Cotton sliould he planted early. — It may increase the dif- 
ficulty of getting a stand, and give the plant, for a long time, 
a puny appearance, but every stalk of cotton planted in 
March, or first week in April, that survives, may be readily 
distinguished, in any field that has been replanted later. It 
bears more, and earlier, and stands all the vicissitudes of June, 
July and August better. There are several methods of plant- 
ing. Your Committee recommends planting in spots, regularly 
measured by the dibble. It is somewhat tedious, though less 
so than is generally supposed, and certainly does not take as 
much time as both to drill and chop out; nor is time so valu- 
able at that period, as when the latter operation is required, 
while a better and more regular stand may be secured. 
There is no land, or but little, in our district, in which cotton 
rows sliould be over three feet apart, or the cotton further 
than fourteen inches in the drill, one plant in a place. To 
make a large crop, there must be an abundant supply of 
stalks. When the weather is too wet to plant, time may be 
often saved by dropping the seed, but not covering until the 
ground is dryer. If, however, it cannot be covered in three 
or four days, it is time lost, for it must be replanted. Always 
cover lightly, under any circumstances. And always plant 
on something of a bed, in any land. It keeps cotton dryer, 



GOVERNOR HAMMOND'S REPORT. 25 

and affords more air when it is young. It enables you to get 
at it in working. By increasing the surface, it absorbs more 
moisture, if it is too dry ; and gives out more if it is too wet, 
and in both cases, gives you the advantage of a vertical sun 
on the tap root, which hastens the maturity of the bolls — a 
vast desideratum in our climate. On this account, the bed 
can hardly be drawn too high at the last hoeing, in any 
season. 

In cultivating Cotton, whether with the plough or hoe, the 
chief object is to keep down the grass, which is its greatest 
antagonist, bringing all, or almost all other evils in its train. 
It is not so essential, in the opinion of your Committee, to 
keep the ground stirred, as is generally supposed, and by no 
means requisite to stir it deep ; at all events, not to our light 
soil. If it be well prepared, deep ploughing is not only un^ 
necessary for any of our crops, but often highly injurious to 
them, while it rapidly exhausts the land, by turning it up 
•fresh, under a burning sun. Much unnecessary pains is usu- 
ally taken, and time lost, to work the plant in a particular 
way, under the supposition that it is a peculiarly delicate one. 
If it survives its infancy, few plants are hardier. It is often 
found to reach maturity in the alleys, where the mules walk 
with the ploughs following, and the laborer tramps backward 
and forward. Sometimes it will bear fruit in turnrows used 
frequently for wagons, while it really seems to derive benefit 
from being bitten down almost to the ground by the animals ; 
it will bear almo&t any usage better than it will that mortal 
enemy — grass. 

The most critical operation in working cotton, is thinning. 
It should be done with great care, and if early, with the hand. 
In a dry year, it cannot be done too early after the plant is 
up. In a wet one, it may be profitably delayed, until it has 
begun to form, or later even. On the experience, observation 
2 



26 COTTON planter's manual. 

and judgment of the planter, in this matter, everytliing de- 
pends, as each year brings its own rules with it. Where cir- 
cumstances are favorable, early thinning is, of course, the best. 
Some planters always top their cotton. Others never do. 
Your Committee are of opinion, that it seldom or never does 
harm to do so. But whether it is worth the trouble, is a 
doubtful question. Those who have no clearing, or other im- 
portant employ for their hands, would lose nothing by devot- 
ing three or four days to this operation early in August. 
Those pressed for time might gain by omitting it. 

Too muck pains cannot he taken in preparing Cotton for 
market, for they are well remunerated by the additional price. 
The first thing to be attended to, is to have it gathered free 
of trash. With a little care, wonders can be effected in this 
way ; and hands with a short training, will pick almost, if not 
quite, as much without trash as with it. It should never be 
gathered when wet. And here it may not be out of place to 
remark, that one of the very best sanitary rules of a planta- 
tion is, never to send out your hands to pick until the dew 
has nearly or quite disappeared. It saves time in the long 
run, as well as health and life. Cotton should never be gin- 
ned, until the seeds are so dry as to crack between the teeth. 
If damp, it is preferable to dry it in the shade, as the sun 
extracts the oil, and injures the staple. If, by accident, how- 
ever, it gets wet, there is no alternative but to put it on the 
scaffold. It is of great importance to sort the cotton carefully 
into several qualities, in ginning and packing, for by mixing 
all qualities together, the average of the price is certainly 
lowered. A few old hands, or very young ones, breeding 
women, sucklers, and invalids, will earn excellent wages in a 
ginhouse, at this occupation. Neat packing is of no small im- 
portance, in the sale of cotton, and no little taste may be dis- 
played in making the packages. The advantage of square 



27 

bags is universally known, and tlie Committee are astonished 
that any other should ever be made now. 

Every kind of manure is valuable for Cotton. — Every kind 
of compost, green crops turned in, cotton seed, and even naked 
leaves listed and left to rot, improves this crop. When planted 
on cotton seed, and sometimes on strong stable manure, it is 
more difficult to retain a stand, owing probably to the over 
stimulus of these strong manures. So, on leaves, unless well 
rotted, the cotton will long continue to die, in consequence of 
the leaves decaying away, and exposing the root too much to 
sun and rain. These difficulties may be avoided, by a little 
pains, and by no means justify the opinion entertained by 
some, that cotton should never be planted on freshly manur- 
ed land. The only question is the cost of the manure. A 
great deal may be made on every plantation, without much 
trouble or expense, by keeping the stables and stable-yard, 
hog and cow pens, well supplied with leaves and straw. And 
also from pens of corn-cobs ; sweepings from negro and fowl- 
house yards, and rank weeds that spring up about them, col- 
lected together, and left to rot. Whenever the business is 
carried further, and a regular force is detached to make 
manure at all seasons, and entirely left out from the crop, it 
becomes the owner to enter into a close calculation of the cost 
and profits. In many agricultural operations, such a course, 
the experience of all countries has proved to be profitable, but 
these operations partake rather more of the farming and gar- 
dening, than planting character ; and whether the same 
method will do for the extensive planting of short staple 
cotton, remains, in the opinion of your Committee, yet to be 
tested. If anything like an average of past prices can be 
maintained, it is certain that more can be made by planting 
largely than by making manure as a crop. If, however, 
prices continue to fall, and the growing of cotton be confined 



28 COTTON planter's manual. 

to a few rich spots — those susceptible of high manuring — then 
our whole system must be changed, our crops must be cur- 
tailed, and staple-labor losing its past value, the comparative 
profit of a cotton and manure crop, will preponderate in favor 
of the latter. As a substitute for manuring on a large scale, 
resting and rotation of crops is resorted to. In our right 
level land, the practice of resting cannot be too highly recom- 
mended, and, by a judicious course, such as resting two and 
planting two, or at most three years, -our lands may not only 
be kept up for ever, but absolutely improved. From rotation 
of crops, but little is gained for cotton. After small grain, 
whether from the exhausting nature of that crop, on light 
lands, or because the stubble keeps the ground always rough 
and porous, cotton will not do well. After corn, it is difficult 
to tend, as from our usual manner of cultivating corn, grass is 
always left in full possession of the field. It does best after 
cotton, or after a year's rest. Best is the grand restorer, and 
the rotation chiefly required in the cultivation of cotton. 

J. H. HAMMOND, Chairman. 



SECTION III. — "COLO" TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN, ON 
COTTON CULTURE. 

From the Laurensville Herald. 

Honored Sir : — Will you permit me, through the columns 
of the Herald, to reply to your very acceptable letter. 

The subject I desire to press home upon every planter is 
the improvement of seed by a close and rigid selection from 
the field, as also the duty of drying before put into bulk, so 
as to prevent the heating of seed. 

Every planter should do it to some extent, and in ad- 



LETTER TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 29 

dition thereto procure an occasional fresh article from the 
favored region of the cotton plant. 

I commence my cotton planting operations by breaking 
down with clubs the cotton stalks of the past year : if they be 
large, the limbs are threshed down first so as to break up, 
then the stalk broken off as near the earth as possible. Of 
course this is done when cotton succeeds cotton. I then run 
off my rows, at such distances as the fertility and age of land 
as well as the variety of seed demand. The fresher the land, 
and richer it is, the greater the distance ; the Mexican seed 
req[uiring more distance than the cotton I have seen, which is 
called in a part of Mississippi, the Hogan seed — a few I have 
received as a present — and these still more than the Sugar Loaf, 
another variety from Mississippi, which in some localities in 
the Gulf States has proved very productive. I have not had 
occasion to give a greater distance than five and a-half feet, 
and am inclined to think — though you claim to be at the 
northern extremity of the cotton region — that upon rich and 
fresh land the cotton stalk may be as large or larger than 
some eighty or ninety miles south, on similar lands. 

I make it a point to plough out all land as deep as I can, 
and without any ridge being left under the ploughed land. My 
rows are always laid off by stakes, with a shovel-plough, and 
then two farrows turned to it, one from each side, with an 
efficient turned plough ; this is performed as early in March as 
I can, endeavoring to postpone my spring ploughing until after 
the heavy rains. Understand, I have a clay subsoil, with 
silicious matter so fine, that no grit is perceived by rubbing 
with the fingers. 

Using due diligence in my early ploughing, and planting 
of corn, I am enabled to have all cotton land with three fur- 
rows thrown up, before time to plant cotton. When the time 
has arrived — which time should not be before the seed will 



30 

vegetate, and plant grow off — I do not like to plant as early 
as many do — I then press forward my ploughing and planting 
thus : enough ploughs go ahead to ridge up entirely the balance 
of unbroken earth ; harrows follow, openers, droppers, and 
last coverers. I never wish to sow more than one bushel 
of seed, and prefer to cover with a board or block so 
as to cover shallow, to leave ridge smooth, and to compress 
earth to seed. Upon level land, I require a set of hands to 
plant ten acres per day, length of rows averaging four hundred 
and forty yards; a set of hands is one harrower, one opener 
one to sow seed, and one to cover. Now, esteemed sir, we 
have planted say one-half the crop. 

If all the land had not been ploughed with three furrows 
prior to this, I then turn about and prepare the residue of 
land, and if corn can be pressed forward, I work all or part — 
with the view of having ten days between first and last plant- 
ing. Then return to planting the residue of cotton. We 
have now planted the crop. 

Ploughing and Planting. — I am very particular in re- 
quiring rows to be laid off straight, bedded up so ; and fur- 
rows opened for dropping, equally so, because the ploughman 
in all succeeding labor is able to plough nearer the plant, thus 
lightening hoe labor. An expert ploughman, Avith a sharp 
turning- plough, by letting the share run level with the ridge, 
handles inclined, of course, can scrape so near the plant, that 
a hoe hand can scrape and thin out nearly twice as much. 

Many, in breaking up land for cotton, leave iinbroken 
earth ; some call it "cut and cover" — that is, cover unbroken 
earth with a harrow — and they insist that the plant bears 
better than when the land is broken up — the plant grows too 
luxuriantly. This may possibly be the case upon the rich 
lands where your plantation in Alabama is, but certainly not 
in our State, and where you live. It is a slovenly culture, 



LETTER TO HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 31 

to say the least of it. But how can the tender spongioles of 
the root pass through stiff land in dry weather, and how can 
the plant be sustained when only half the land is cultivated ? 

The deeper land is ploughed when the subsoil is not 
sandy, or gravelly, if properly drained, the more room for 
roots to search for their food, and the greater deposit of dew 
therein, the longer to get hot, and the earlier to cool, as well 
as holding more moisture, less liability to wash from an ordi- 
nary rain, and the sooner the drying of the surface. 

I place two furrows on the one laid off early, that the 
earth may consolidate — cotton seed vegetating more certain, 
and grows off more rapidly. I put off breaking out the residue 
as long as I can, so that the surface may be clean when 
planted, and thus grass and cotton have an equal start. I 
use the harrow to remove all trash, clods, &c., as also to level 
ridge, 

I prefer a ridge, with the vieAV of having dry, warm soil 
for the seed, as cotton grows off earlier, and is sooner out of 
the way of droughts, as also that I can scrape down with 
the plough, and cover young grass thinly in the middle. 

Early planting gives " sore shin" and lice ; or rather the 
plant has so little vitality, that its natural enemies soon •' take 
away even that which it hath." 

I always strive to keep seed perfectly sound, thereby adding 
to the vitality of the plant. I have noticed, some years the 
stand to be worse than other years, and some men always to 
have had the luck of bad stands. This was owing, I thinJc, 
to damp weather, or wet spells injuring the cotton so as to 
injure the vital powers of the seed. 

I plant seed sparsely, because the plant becomes hardy at 
once, and then stands almost, if not quite, as much cold as 
corn. 

I regard a crop when planted in first-rate order, as nearly 



32 

half made, so much regard I place upon thorougli tilth and 
thorough preparation. 

With profound respect, I am, honored sir, yours, 

COLO. 



SECTION IV. — REMARKS ON THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON. 
From the Southern Cultivator. 

1. Preparation of Land. 

In writing out the detailed plan I pursue in the cultivation 
of cotton, I must begin I suppose on the 1st of January, so as 
to carry your readers regularly through. I will endeavor not 
to be tedious, yet I cannot possibly be minute, without at least 
being tiresome to somebody — and there is always somebody, 
who already knows everything. 

For ten years past, I have thrashed down all cotton stalks, 
cut down all corn stalks, and turned them under as well as 
possible with a turning-plough. When planting cotton after 
corn, I strive to break up the land with two-horse ploughs — 
what I term flushing, that is, breaking up in thirty to fifty- 
feet beds. Last year I broke up every acre of land I planted, 
with two-horse ploughs, whether planted in cotton, corn, oats, 
or potatoes. 

If my land has been in cotton, I generally open out water 
furrows, deep, with a shovel-plough, to this I throw two fur- 
rows, one on each side, with one or two-horse turning-ploughs. 
Thus the land remains until a day or two before I wish to 
plant, when I have the balk broken out, thus having fresh 
earth to plant upon and yet firm earth for the seed to be 
planted in. There will be a narrow ridge of earth, not cov- 
ered by the fresh earth, but I invariably run an iron-tooth 



PREPARATION OF LAND. 33 

harrow along tlie ridge, so as to break clods, and rake off 
pieces of stalk and to leave the ridge fresh ; if once running 
of the harrow will not do, I run it twice. 

The opener then follows and opens out a furrow, say one 
half inch is deep enough, and narrow ; if this furrow could 
be as straight as a bee line, and half an inch wide I would 
esteem it better, if upon level land. The seed is scattered 
thinly and regularly, then covered with a board or block ; I 
would prefer a roller. As to distance, this depends upon 
quality, age, and locality of land. Rich and fresh land requir- 
ing greater distance, and I am inclined to think that the same 
quality of land north of say 33° will tend more to longer joints, 
than does cotton about 31° to 33° and particularly western 
lands ; these lands tending to short joints, and greater yield to 
height of cotton. I do not plant any land that requires rows 
to be over five and a-half feet, even to grow fifteen to twenty 
hundred-weight of cotton per acre. There is sometimes, I 
am sure, much loss by too sparse planting. I desire to have 
the plants meet in the rows by the 1st of August, and should 
it after this date lap in the row, the crop will not be materially 
injured. I find the new varieties, as Sugar Loaf and Cluster, 
to require less distance both ways than does the Mexican. 
When I planted my crop with Mexican — Petit Gulf — I gave 
five to five and a-half feet by two to three feet on my best 
land. For four years I have grown Sugar Loaf, and plant 
four and a-half feet by eighteen to twenty -four inches, prefer- 
ring about eighteen inches. Upon second quality of land I 
reduce distance to four feet or less, by eighteen inches. Upon 
this department of planting (the preparation) I use more lime 
and labor than is usual, being careful to break up deep, throw 
out into beds all the land, leaving no unploughed ridges ; the 
ridges I endeavor to pulverize well, and do not run ploughs 
unless land will pulverize, thinking ploughing may be done 
2* 



34 COTTON planter's manual. 

too early and land injured by being plouglied wet. My object 
in ploughing, say three furrows, early, is to permit the foun- 
dation of ridges to settle somewhat, as seed germinate freer, 
and grow off better than upon light earth. I break out the 
residue as late as planting time, so that the plant will start 
before or with the grass and weeds. I prefer never more 
than a bushel of seed, per acre because solitary stalks are 
not injured by cold weather when scraped out, as when grown 
in a hot-bed. 

I have been asked, how I plant seed when I buy. I reply, 
I wet the seed thoroughly with salt and water, and some- 
times use brine made by steeping stable manure in salt and 
water for ten days before wanted, until fermentation has en- 
sued. The seed are then dried off with ashes, or lime, or 
plaster — I prefer the two latter, as the seeds are white, and 
the master can see that care in dropping is practised by hands. 
These seeds are dropped at the required distance and are 
covered with the foot, by brushing a little earth upon the 
seeds and pressing them into the earth with the foot. I would 
prefer a seed-planter, but could not make the one I tried, drop 
regular. Five to ten seeds in a place is ample. I have drop- 
ped only one, and two, and three ; when I did this myself, 
I failed not in a stand. 

With a good ridge, clean of clods and litter, a hand can 
scrape more ; the labor of planting carefully, and time seem- 
ingly lost in this, as well as of dropping seed, is fully regained 
in the scraping. I have cultivated for ten years, nine to ten 
acres of cotton, and eight to nine of corn, besides potatoes, 
oats, &c. This could not have been done, but by doing all 
work well. Time is saved by good ploughing and neat 
planting. 



PREPARATION OF LAND AND PLANTING. 35 



2. Preparation of Land and Planting. 

Last night, I gave you the preparation and planting of the 
cotton crop ; yet I could not, in the length of one article, 
give more than a rapid survey. I prefer short articles, and 
yet it is best to be particular, even minute — though there is 
even here an objection — for a writer should leave something 
for his readers to think of. When I plant oats land, land that 
was the year previous to rest, or corn land, I invariably break 
up into large beds, size according to width of rows to be planted, 
so as to throw water-furrow of the flushing as a water-furrow 
of the row. "When four feet rows, I run off land thirty-two 
feet, and keep farrows as straight as possible, on level land. 
I then lay off rows, always with a shovel-plough, and then 
two farrows as before. Sometimes I open out water-furrow 
of old rows, as deep as two mules can draw a shovel-plough ; 
bed up to this entire, thea open out a new water-furrow deep, 
and reverse two farrows with a one-horse plough. I am sat- 
isfied that there is no land I plant but what is materially 
benefited by breaking up with a two-horse plough, then bed 
up with a one-horse plough — thus all trash, grass, seed, &c., 
is well buried below the one-horse plough furrow. I use a 
piece of wood two to three feet long, running level on the 
land, the front end shod with iron, for the purpose of opening 
out furrows for planting seed. My object is to make a clean, 
straight farrow, and impact the loose earth. This stick of 
wood is rounded below, and fastened to a shovel-plough stock. 
The straighter the row on level land, or the more regular on 
rolling land, if circling be practised, the closer can the scraper 
be run — thus giving less labor to hoe hands. And if cotton 
seed be scattered very regular, so as to give a stand, no stalks 
touching, the hoe hand can thin out faster, and thus save time. 



36 COTTON planter's manual. 

If I were able to plant my cotton crop with, the neatness 
and order with which Col. Wade Hampton plants his crop, 
I believe I could cultivate an acre or two more per hand. 
Being in company with him in 1847, on a steamboat, we dis- 
cussed the subject of planting for hours, and he assured me 
that all his furrows were opened out for planting with the 
corner of the hoe, narrow and straight. If I could drop seed 
in a furrow only an inch wide and quite straight, I think I 
could manage two acres of scraping per day to each fall hand. 
I regard planting a crop, if done in the best manner, more in 
the light of half cultivated, than many would believe. I have 
scraped three acres in a day. I can dirt easily four acres per 
horse ; and can, with the solid sweep, break out four to nine 
acres per horse, owing to whether rows be four or five feet 
w^ide — thus, besides the earthing furrow, it requires one or 
two to sweep out the middle. But land has to be put in good 
order, and seed planted in order. This matter has called for 
many a line from my pen in the different papers I have writ- 
ten for, and I must be pardoned for thus dwelling so long. It 
is really no interest of mine whether planters cultivate well 
or iU ; whether they can cultivate a fair crop easily, or not, I 
cannot be benefited. Yet, as a citizen of this beautiful world 
— as a sojourner in this southern clime — I feel an abiding 
interest in the welfare of my fellows. Therefore, I say, if 
planters will devote more care and attention in tilling their 
lands, and in putting in their crops in a good manner, they 
will be able to make more, and yet spare their servants and 
their beasts much labor in the cultivation. 

Look at the garden. Take one bed and trench it — spade 
up two spades deep, reversing the soil even, what will be the 
result ? But suppose the first spit be laid one side, then the 
second spit weU and finely dug wp, the first returned reversed, 
or thoroughly mixed — will not that bed be more or less moist 



CULTIVATION OF THE CROP. 3T 

all the year ? And if there is a chance for water to pass off, 
will it not be fit to work after a rain, sooner than any part of 
the garden ? And must it not, of necessity, produce better ? 

I admit a planter cannot plant so great a crop, but he will 
need much less to make an equal crop. 

The misfortune is, the body of the cotton planters want a 
large crop, and will not be at the expense of team and tools. 
Would they not ridicule the carpenter who, instead of getting 
tools to tongue and groove his flooring, would attempt to rabit 
each side of plank, or to dig grooves, and then dig for a tongue 
with a chisel ? And yet, though not quite so absurd, planters 
act. What difference in cost, in twenty years, if a planter 
buys six shovels, six one-horse turning-ploughs, three two- 
horse turning-ploughs, six scrapers, six harrows, or to buy all 
turn-ploughs ? These same ploughs will last by changing — 
those not used to be taken care of — as long as the same 
number of one kind, and for all work. Think ye, and judge 

ye. 



3. Cultivation of tlie Crop. 

Mr. Editor : — I have seen cotton cultivated these thirty 
or more years ; I have read pretty much all that has been 
written upon the subject since 1819, and I have tried many 
experiments. So far, I know no better way to proceed in the 
culture than the plan I now pursue, and is pursued generally 
in this section. Who deserves the credit for the plan, I know 
not ; nor do I know from whence it came. To cultivate a full 
crop, we must rely on the plough ; if we use ploughs adapted 
to the work, I can see no objection. And, as to scraping 
cotton, the best planters of this part of Mississippi not only do 
it, but they are falling into the plan of even scraping corn. 



38 COTTON planter's manual. 

But to our work. I never pLant all cotton land at once ; I 
prefer mucli to plant, say one-lialf about the 1st of April, and 
in ten days the residue. 

So soon as I see enough cotton up to make a stand, I begin 
to scrape, by starting a scraper, which, if in good order and 
beds well made, will shave the bed to within one inch of the 
plant, and cover all the grass in the middle of a four-foot row. 
And here will be seen the great gain in throwing up a ridge 
and planting seed straight on a clean bed. Hoe hands follow, 
and scrape the entire remaining surface of the ridge, leaving 
none of the surface to grow grass, chopping through the row 
so as to leave either a stand at the right distance, say two or 
three, or four stalks, or else leaving a double stand. By be- 
ginning early, the surface is cleaner, and it is much less difficult 
to clean around the plant, than when grass and weeds have 
started. And here let me say, I used the best steel-bladed 
hoes sold by A. B. Allen, in New York, and by S. Frank- 
lin, in New Orleans. I do not like the largest size. These 
hoes can be ground on a grind-stone every two or three days, 
and a flat file used daily will keep them quite sharp. 

My hoes having made a start, the earth being dry enough 
to crumble after a plough, I start bull-tongue ploughs im- 
mediately after, and dirt the cotton, endeavoring to finish in 
a day or so after the hoes; thus, I have my cotton clean and 
earthed ; it is protected from grass, and the light earth pro- 
tects from the cold nights in May. Besides this, the deep 
narrow furrows made by the bull-tongue plough serve to drain 
the narrow ridge left. This certainly gives a warmer bed 
for cotton, and in throwing light earth, grass vegetates much 
slower. 

Sometimes I scrape the second time, though the plough 
not preceding; when I do not, and the earth is comparatively 
clean, I start a small shovel-plough again to dirt, and the 



CULTIVATION OF THE CROP. 39 

hoes follow, to clean and level the earth on the ridge, making 
it a point to clean the row perfectly. Never cover grass un- 
less it is very small. 

After this, I use sweeps, cultivators, shovels, harrows, &c. 
— very seldom a turning-plough — and at every working with 
plough, throw a little earth ; every working of hoe, scrape a 
little off, so as to keep my bed about the same height. Cotton 
requiring a dry bed, not a high ridge ; I therefore never draw 
up earth with hoes. 

After the first earthing, the main principle is to keep clean 
and stir the earth every fourteen to twenty days ; and con- 
tinue this even to the picking, if on good, light, moist land. 
Better to break a few limbs of the plant, than to stop the 
ploughs too early. 

I am opposed to waiting for the plant to have the third or 
fifth leaf before scraping ; too much time is lost, grass gets 
some strength, and it is more tedious to clean the crop ; besides, 
the plant is checked in growth, and almost invariably turns 
yeUow after scraping. I also oppose scraping, if left two 
weeks before earthing the plant. I regard scraping as essen- 
tial to the cleaning a crop of eight or ten acres per hand ; but 
the plant should receive earth as soon after as possible. I 
bave scraped and earthed with the hoe as I scraped, but this 
is again too slow. Scrape or clean off grass and weeds with 
the hoe, and dirt with the plough, is the principle. The ob- 
ject is to keep the young plant thrifty, that it may stand up 
against the louse. I would not speak as ex cathedra, nor 
in that tone ; yet I give my opinions as is natural to me, using 
no parlez vous phrases. 

As regards lice and sore sMn, the first is a never-failing at- 
tendant of the cotton plant ; but when the plant is healthy, the 
lice do not check the growth, nor do the things breed so fast. 
They are worse upon early planted or badly cultivated land, 



40 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

because the cold checks the growth, and if cultivated in mud 
and water, a similar result. Sore shin, I think, is caused by 
injury from the hoe, and cultivation when land is wet. Some 
seasons, both of these are worse than others. An early, warm 
season, with sound seed, we are but little annoyed; thus 
showing the fault is our own. I have never been annoyed 
but one year, and then I had a very smart overseer, who got 
ready to plant before he was ready. 



4. Cultivation of the Crop — continued. 

Mr. Editor : — There are many requisites to making a good 
crop, and the most of them are within the reach of every 
planter, whether he plants for the one, or the one thousand 
bales. And, having tested many experiments, I hope I may 
be of some service in drawing attention thereto. 

The use of manures has been so fully set forth by our 
friend. Dr. Cloud, "of Alabama, that it would seem a work of 
supererogation to allude thereto ; yet, I may have some 
friends who would be guided by me, and as they might not be 
touched by the Doctor's able articles, I beg to say : As early 
as 1817, in Chester District, S. C, when boarding with my ven- 
erated friend, Mr. Harbinson, I saw the most marked differ- 
ence as to yield of cotton, caused by manure, that I ever remem- 
ber to have seen. In 1842 or '43, I tested stable manure and 
cotton seed as a manure ; an unbelieving aged friend, as also 
quite a number of young planters, were called upon to express 
an opinion — it was, that a 500 lb. bale was the product ; 
whereas, without manure, not one-half was growing, adjacent. 
I do not believe any manure can increase the yield of some 
of our western river bottoms, in that proportion ; yet, upon 
thin land, I feel very certain that it can be done. I use cot- 



CULTIVATION OF THE CKOP. 41 

ton seed scattered in the drill, and then beds made thereupon, 
and always with a favorable result. 

It is, I admit, a tedious process to haul out three or four 
hundred bushels of stable manure ; but not less so is it to 
clear, fence, and break up new ground — nor more tedious than 
pulling up stakes, severing all the tender endearments of 
" mine own, my native land," to seek, at a heavy cost of time 
and money, a home in the western wilds, there to suffer from 
the combined attacks of mosquitoes and fever and ague ! I have 
been on this spot for nineteen years — settled within twenty- 
five feet from where I now write, January, 1831 — and have 
had some experience with bread from a steel mill, rolling logs, 
shaking with the ague, lost in a cane brake, and lying by the 
side of a log all night. I only say, to all dissatisfied with the 
old farmstead — go to work honestly, save aU manures, plough 
deep, sow down peas, rest your land, and be a part of that 
land. 

Another adjunct alluded to in the preceding paragraph — 
deep ploughing, and really breaking up the entire surface, not 
leaving any unbroken earth. Eemember the mine that was 
left to a son, in his father's field ! The youth thought that 
gold had been buried — he went to work with the spade, and 
dug up every inch, but no gold ! He had to eat, and there- 
fore planted — the product amazed him — he continued, and 
found the treasure — industry and good culture ! 

If the labor bestowed in California, with pickaxes, spades, 
&c., &c., was made available in the slaveholding States, I 
believe the mines of Golconda and the wealth of Croesus, 
would fail to give an idea of the result. 

And I fully believe that freq[uent, deep, and effectual 
ploughing, before planting, will do great good. One of the 
most successful planters in Hinds County, Miss., always bed- 
ded up and reversed his beds before planting. 



42 coTTOx planter's manual. 

I do not regard some of our large crop-masters as worthy of 
imitation — they make eight, ten, aye, twelve bales per hand, 
but it is by working negroes, and wasting land. 

Alternation of crops has a powerful influence, and is of great 
benefit to the planter, if he will plant in four-fold rotation, cot- 
ton, corn, grain, and rest — absolute rest. I do not call it 
resting land to graze it. It would be as well to cut off the 
crop, and better, as the ground will not then be injured by 
trampling in wet weather. 

Sowing peas (two to three pecks per acre) when corn is 
laid by, will give shade to the land, and a large amount of 
manure. Peas gather sustenance from the air as well as 
the land, and thus you return all to the land taken up by the 
pea, and more too. I am constrained to believe that a dense 
shade of pea vines will benefit land, even if every stem of the 
pea could be removed the first killing frost. 

And last, though not least, I regard selecting of seed, duly 
curing before being bulked, as an important aid to the health 
and growth and productiveness of the crop. Why should not 
increase of vitality in cotton seed be beneficial, as well as 
sound and healthy parents to a sound issue ? I admit I am 
interested in this being promulgated — but I hope not more than 
what all others should be. I am so well satisfied of the fact, 
that I have been purchasing seed for fifteen years or more. 
True, I have, in 1848-9, sold largely — but others are bene- 
fited as much as I have been. Yours, with respect, 

M. W. PHILIPS. 



NEWBUEY AGEICULTURAL SOCIETY EEPORT. 43 



SECTION V. — EEPOET ON COTTON, TO THE NEWBURY 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

From the South Carolinian. 

The Committee on Cotton respectfully report : Tliat the 
complete and thorough preparation of the soil is of the utmost 
importance to a successful cotton crop. As early, therefore, 
in the season, after the crop is gathered, as is practicable, the 
land should be broken up, deep and thoroughly. On clay 
soils it renders the ground loose and friable, and when stubble 
ground is planted, it is necessary to turn the sod early, in order 
to hasten the decomposition of the grasses and weeds. The 
beds should be made from three to five feet wide, according to 
the nature of the soil, and, if manuring is intended, they should 
be opened by a deep furrow, and the manure deposited and 
covered, by lapping on two good furrows. Unfermented com- 
post manure, if applied early to clay soils, and buried with the 
plough, will be found most beneficial. It serves to keep the 
ground loose and friable, thereby giving access to heat, air 
and moisture, the three great agents of nutrition ; and, in un- 
dergoing fermentation, it imparts warmth to the soil, which, 
in the early stage of the crop, is of the greatest importance to 
forward its growth. In making the compost heap, almost 
everything is available. Leaves and straw, which have been 
deposited in the stables and farm-yard, and ashes, should aU 
be incorporated in the same heap. The compost recommended 
by the Committee on Manures at your last annual meeting, is 
an excellent preparation for this crop. By furnishing the 
hogs, when put up for fattening, with an abundant supply of 
litter, a large quantity of this excellent compost manure can 
easily be made. 



44 COTTON planter's manual. 

When the same land is again planted in cotton, a deep and 
broad furrow should be opened with a large two-horse Eagle- 
plough, but if this plough is not available, then a substitute 
may be made by using a large twister, drawn by two horses, 
and passing up and down until the furrow is opened to a suf- 
ficient depth. In it should be deposited the cotton stalks, and 
a bed be made upon them by throwing up and completely 
covering them. 

Early in March the beds should be prepared for planting, 
and to do this most effectually, a two-horse iron-toothed har- 
row, if passed over them, will reduce the land to a thorough 
state of pulverization. Follow this with a marker, making a 
small seed-furrow in the middle of the bed. The seed should 
be rolled, j)revious to planting, in a preparation of ashes, stable 
manure, and water, which is easily done, and embodies two 
distinct advantages. It enables them, when drilled, to assume 
a separate position, and also acts as a stimulant, which is very 
much required in the early stage of its growth. "We feel con- 
fident, if this course of preparation were generally observed, 
we would hear less of bad stands, and the various complaints 
amongst our cotton planters every spring. The seed, when 
rolled, should be planted while moist, and immediately cov- 
ered lightly. For this purpose we use a board, three feet 
long, slightly hollowed, which makes a clean sweep across the 
bed, leaving it in fine condition. A small harrow also ansAvers 
a good jDurpose. As soon as a stand makes its appearance, the 
barring-plough should be run round, and followed immediately 
with the hoes, the crop cut down to the proper distance, say from 
fifteen to twenty inches, and the grass and w^eeds along the 
ridge destroyed. Then follow, with a suitable plough, at such 
a distance as will throw off the dirt from the cotton into the 
middle or water-furrow, thus covering up the grass and weeds. 
The hoes should immediately follow, leaving rather more than 



NEWBURY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT. 45 

a full stand. The second and after ploughings should be more 
light, and, as the principal benefit which the crop derives is 
from keeping the crop loose, and free from grass and weeds ; 
the expanding cultivator, in a season not too wet, will be 
found the best implement which can be used for this purpose. 
It will finish the row by running once through it, thus saving 
a good deal of labor in the crop, and the ground is left in a 
better condition than from the use of any other plough. Cot- 
ton is more benefited than any other crop by rapid working, 
and, in order to enable the planter to go over as often as his 
crop requires it, he should adopt the plan of only partially 
ploughing out the rows, and returning in a short time to finish 
the work. This, the use of the cultivator will enable him to 
do, on lands free from stumps and roots, but as it would be 
impracticable on soils where such obstructions existed, the 
use of broad shovel-ploughs and sweejjs, applied in the man- 
ner recommended, would be of great gain to the crop. The 
cotton crop should be ploughed at least every ten days, and a 
furrow or two seems to keep this plant in as good growing 
condition, as if the entire row is regularly ploughed out. This 
season, a shovel-plough or a s^veep would only have cultivated 
the grass, and those planters who used large turning-ploughs, 
and, by completely subverting the soil, smothered the grass, 
have succeeded in keeping their crops cleanest. In a dry 
year, the process of superficial ploughing, or scarification, by 
the use of the cultivator or sweeps, will answer an admirable 
purpose, and be the proper system of tillage, but in a wet 
season we have no fears in recommending the heavy turning- 
ploughs, for the economical cultivation of cotton. All this, 
however, is to be controlled by the season, and the prepara- 
tion of the soil for the reception of the crop. Deep ploughing 
does no good in the middle of the rows, when the soil upon 
which the plants stand has not been broken up deep. Com- 



46 COTTON planter's manual. 

mon sense points out to us that cotton, from its long, pene- 
trating tap root, and tlie almost entire absence of lateral 
feeders, should he planted on soil of great depth of tilth, and, 
if this is furnished, we would open new feeding grounds to the 
plant, and thus, perhaps without the aid of manure on many 
soils, add to the amount of yield. 

By the 1st of August all the cultivation of the crop should 
be finished, and from the 29th of July to the middle of August 
the cotton should be topped. This will cause the stalks to 
expand and perfect more bolls, and amply repay for the little 
labor which is consumed in effecting it. There are a great 
many varieties of cotton cultivated, and the Petit Gulf kinds 
are generally highly esteemed. Perhaps the McNutt is upon 
the whole to be preferred, as it bolls well, and is of early 
maturity ; but it is generally known that all the varieties 
deteriorate after five or six years' culture, and it is there- 
fore advisable to renew the seed, by introducing the most 
approved varieties from the Gulf region. The little ex- 
pense which attends this amply repays the increased pro- 
duct of the crop. The Mastodon cotton was tried here last 
season under unfavorable circumstances. The piece of ground 
planted was wet, and as the seed was used sparingly, a bad 
stand was the result. The product, however, was found to 
be a remarkably good yield for the stand, and of early matu- 
rity, fully as early as the McNutt, which grew beside it. 
Should this variety, upon further trial this season, be found 
equally well adapted to our climate, as the other short staple 
cottons, it will add much to repay the planter for his labor. 

The plan of cultivation adopted by Dr. Cloud* was tried 
here during the unfavorable season of 1845. The manure 
deposited was not, owing to the drought, available to the crop, 

* See " South Carolinian" of Nov. 7, 1846. 



NEWBURY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT. 47 

but was of the utmost importance to the succeeding crop of 
corn. The experiment even then would have warranted its 
continuance, as by this system of manuring, the poor soils of our 
State would be annually improved, instead of being impover- 
ished as they are, under the ruinous course generally pursued. 
Something should be done to restore the soil in some degree 
to its original fertility, and this can only be effected by a 
judicious and industrious course of manuring. 

We know that there are many notions prevalent respecting 
a diminution of the cotton crop, and that the main objections 
to the cotton culture consist in the difficulty of continuing it 
extensively, and at the same time carrying out such a proper 
system of manuring and rotation, as will certainly and gradu- 
ally improve our exhausted fields. This is an objection well 
founded, and if we were threatened with a dense population 
which would consume as much food as the land would produce, 
it would be high time to cast about for other systems of tillage. 
"We are, however, not one of those who believe that the cotton 
culture is incompatible with the improvement of the soil, and 
instead of recommending our planters to decrease the number 
of their bales, we only go so far as to advise them to produce 
a greater number upon fewer acres than they now cultivate. 
When we reflect that the limits of our Society embrace the 
very best cotton region in South Carolina Ave are loth to see 
a culture decline which, in the days of past prosperity, has 
added so much wealth to our district. When cotton was first 
cultivated in this district, one bale to the acre was the average 
yield. The same amount can now hy judicious manuring be 
produced on every acre of land which in its virgin fertility 
yielded that quantity. The labor of clearing an acre of forest, 
will always be sufficient to make an acre of worn-out land 
better than the new ground would be for the production of 
any crop, and an acre thus restored, would substantially add 



48 COTTON planter's manual. 

that amount of capital to the wealth of the country. The 
individual wealth of citizens has no beneficial tendency upon 
the people of the nation, the contrary being the general effect. 
To the general prosperity alone can we attribute national 
greatness. 

"When our small farmers become impressed with the neces- 
sity of cultivating their lands properly, and tilling them like 
gardens, they will soon render themselves independent of the 
fluctuations of the markets and the times, and to all such we 
say, take your poorest acresy manure at least one, andy if you 
can, every one, plough deep, and bestow as much labor on one- 
half the number of acres you now cultivate as you do upon 
all, and before a young man grows old, he will own a farm 
which will be a credit to his industry, and a rich legacy to 
his children. 

All of which is respectfully submitted, 

WM. SUMMER, Chairman. 
Pomaria, S. C. 



SECTION VI. — REPORT TO THE UNION (s. C.) AGRICULTURAL 
SOCIETY ON COTTON. 

The Committee on Cotton beg leave to make the following 
report : That the cultivation of cotton has so long engaged 
the attention of the country — aided by all the sagacity of in- 
terest — as one of the leading staples of the State, that it would 
be very difficult to advance anything new or instructive ; but 
that the remarks which they propose to make, must neces- 
sarily be general and trite. They would remark in the first 
instance, on the importance of procuring the best seed. Ex- 
perience has established the fact, that the quality of any 
article of produce may be improved by care in the selection 



UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT. 49 

of seed, in a climate congenial to its growth. It is a very- 
general law of nature, that the offspring inherits the good or 
bad qualities of its parent ; or, in other words, that like pro- 
duces like. This is more particularly true, when applied to 
the vegetable kingdom. This section of country is not re- 
garded as the best adapted to the growth of the cotton plant. 
The best efforts at selection from our own seed might not, 
therefore, be entirely successful, but still the Committee re- 
commend it, as the best counter-agent against the degeneracy 
of climate — as the best means of preserving the seeds in their 
primitive purity. The Committee would therefore, also, ear- 
nestly recommend the frequent renewal of seed from the Petit 
Gulf countries, in the selection of seed from our cotton, it 
should be made from the second crop of. or middle bolls — the 
bolls on the lower limbs being generally small, and the seed 
more or less defective. The season for the growth of cotton 
is too short in this latitude to admit of its attaining to perfect 
maturity. Early planting is, therefore, very important. The 
planting should be so early, if practicable, as will just enable 
the young plant to escape the blight of frost. It is true, that 
sometimes late cotton, owing to the seasons, is most product- 
ive, but the chances are clearly against it. 

The preparation of land for cotton, should claim the early 
attention of the farmer or planter, in several points of view. 
It increases the productiveness of the land, and consequently, 
the amount of the crop ; it abridges the quantum of labor ne- 
cessary to its proper cultivation ; and it is requisite for the 
reception of the seed. The Committee deem it unnecessary to 
enter into the minutise of this subject, as both its importance 
and process are well understood, but will proceed to remark 
on the mode and manner of obtaining a good stand of cotton, 
without which it would be impossible to make a full crop. 
Besides the selection of seed, and preparation of land, before 
3 



50 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

adverted to, it is necessary that the seed be dropped regularly 
in the centre of the opening farrow, and with rather too pro- 
fuse, than too sparing a hand; and then, covered carefully 
quite over, without displacement, with the soil, though not 
deep ; using the harrow, or one-horse double bull-tongue 
plough for that purpose, after the Fairfield manner. If it is 
very dry, the latter is preferable, from the fact that it leaves 
a sharp ridge directly over the seed, thus preventing the 
ground from baking ; and covering deeper, secures a suf- 
ficiency of moisture for germination, and, consequently, a good 
stand of cotton. 

There is some diversity of opinion as to the distance that 
should be given to cotton. The greater the number of stalks 
that can stand on any given quantity of land, without inter- 
fering with each other, will make the maximum amount of 
cotton of which that land is capable. The Committee therefore 
suggest, that the rows of cotton be placed sufficiently close 
to quite cover the ground ; or, in other words, that they be 
placed closer or wider, according to the strength of the ground. 
Thus, on poor land, the rows will increase so rapidly on any 
given numbers of acres, as to make them approach much 
nearer, in the amount of their production, to rich land, than is 
generally supposed. 

The Committee will merely allude to the improvement of 
land generally, by manuring or. otherwise, as being intimately 
connected with the growing of cotton — as that subject more 
properly comes within the province of another committee 
of the Society. They will only remark, that to grow cot- 
ton advantageously in this section of country, it must be done 
on fresh or manured lands. And thus, they have, in a very 
summary manner, disposed of the most important matters pre- 
liminary to the cultivation or the management of the cotton 
crop itself. 



UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY REPORT. 51 

The Committee miglit, with propriety, rest their labors 
here, from the fact, that to say anything of the subsequent 
management of the crop is almost an act of supererogation. 
They, therefore, only propose to throw out a suggestion or so 
for consideration. A greater proportion of labor is bestowed 
on the cotton crop than any other, particularly on large planta- 
tions, where it is usual to plough four times, and close hoe at 
least three, and in some years oftener. It has occurred to the 
Committee that a good portion of this labor, might be saved, 
by dispensing with close hoeing partially, or altogether, ac- 
cording to the field or year. The mode of proceeding is 
this : the hoe is made to follow the plough at the requisite 
distance, to ascertain what grass is killed by it — passing over 
all that portion of the row where the plough has done its 
work properly — and using the hoe only on the large bunches 
of grass, or such as may impede the growth of the cotton — 
thus relying on the plough to kill all the smaller grass. 
Some of the Committee have tried this plan of cultivation, 
and so far it has worked well. 

It is a problem not properly solved, whether it is advisable 
to plough cotton approaching to maturation, or after it has 
attained to good size, with a full crop of forms on it. Your 
Committee think that to plough it, as in the case of corn after 
tasseUing and silking, though it might not, with good seasons, 
and under favorable circumstances injure, but possibly im- 
prove it, yet it would be risking too much. On the whole, 
they are opposed to late ploughing under the scorching sun 
of August. 

A variety of ploughs have been invented, with a view to 
their adaptation to the culture of cotton, but they have been 
pretty generally discarded. The scraper, or Eagle-plough, as 
it is sometimes called, is the best — answering some years and 
on some lands an excellent purpose — but its general utility 



52 COTTON planter's manual. 

is doubted. We should not, however, despond of others bet- 
ter adapted, when we consider the great inventive genius of 
the age. In conclusion, the Committee recommend a gradual 
reduction of the cotton crop, to such point as will admit of 
the improvement of lands, particularly — and generally, of 
improvement in such matters and things as appertain to the 
general economy of a farm. All of which is respectfully 
submitted. 

JOHN GIST, Chairman. 



CHAPTER II 



DR. N. B. CLOUD'S IMPROVED SYSTEM OF COTTON 
CULTURE. 



SECTION I. — DR. cloud's PLAN OF MANURING, PLANTING 
AND TENDING A COTTON CROP. 

Extract from an article published in the Albany Cultivator. 

This improvement when it shall have attained its highest 
state of perfection, contemplates the " system, of rotation^^ in 
planting, under which the land designed for cotton lies the 
previous year in the state of fallow, which is found by expe- 
rience most favorable to the growth and fruitfulness of the 
plant. I commence the preparatory operations for planting 
about the 1st of March, by spreading upon the land, broadcast ^ 
two to three hundred bushels of manure per acre — light stock 
yard and stable compost. I then run off the land in rows of 
three feet with a scooter-plough, opening a good furrow some 
three to four inches deep ; this done, I take a large-sized 
shovel-plough and cross the scooter-furrows by rows, running 
at right angles of five feet wide. I am now prepared to com- 
mence manuring in the hill, having first ascertained that I 
have 2940 hills on each acre, which will require, by giving 
each hill a half gallon of manure— same kind of compost — 184 
bushels nearly, which I haul on the land in a cart, first gradu- 
ated to a certain number of bushels, and with spades likewise 

[5S] 



54 

prepared for the purpose, I deposit the requisite quantity of 
manure in each hill. By this means, which in practice will 
he found simple and expeditious enough, I give four to five 
hundred bushels of manure to each acre — an infallible insur- 
ance for 5000 lbs. of a superior staple per acre. 

As the manure is placed in the hill by rows, the wide way, 
a short distance in advance, a good plough-hand follows with 
a turn-plough, which should run into the soil from six to eight 
inches deep at least, and turn well, with which four furrows 
are thrown together on each row ; thus fixing the half gallon 
of manure in each hill, entirely within the region of constant 
moisture. This gives me a fine, large bed, and well broke, to 
lie until at or about the first of April, when the cotton seed 
should be planted. This is done by first opening the bed as 
shallow as possible, with some instrument such as that de- 
scribed by M. W. Philips, Esq., in the March number of the 
ninth volume of the Cultivator . This I prefer to any other 
instrument of the kind I have ever yet seen, since its depth of 
furrow may be graduated to a positive certainty so as to avoid 
disturbing the manure in the hill ; it should not be opened out 
deeper than one inch. The bed thus opened, and the seed 
previously rolled in leeched ashes or sand, which answer very 
well, though I prefer a compound of two parts of ashes to one 
of common salt made moist with water ; the seeds, well rolled 
in this, are carefully dropped over the manure. Eight or ten 
seeds in a place will answer to secure a stand. There will be 
no difficulty in dropping the seed over the manure in the hill, 
when it is recollected and observed that upon the unbroken 
space of some two feet between each row, the scooter-farrows 
will be found an unerring gaide to the manure in the bed at 
distances of three feet. The seed thus dropped I prefer to 
have covered with a hoe, lightly and carefully ; bearing in 
mind this golden truth, that '' a crop well planted is half made." 



MANUEING, PLANTING AND TENDING. 55 

Immediately after planting, the middles or unbroken balks 
should be ploughed out. 

The crop of cotton thus planted, which should not exceed 
three to four acres to the hand, may be performed in good time 
and well done. In a few days, say nine to twelve, the cotton 
will be up, presenting a most healthy and thrifty appearance. 
The next operation to be performed, as early as possibly con- 
venient, is to plough out the middles well, the wide way, with 
a good shovel-plough, having first run around the young plant 
with a scooter-plough. The hoe hands follow and thin the 
cotton down to two stalks, giving it a small quantity of soil. 
This operation well done, the plant is at once placed beyond 
all danger, since its tap root will now have taken such hold 
upon the manure below as to enable the plant to outstrip 
either grass or weeds, having yet to spring up. 

Under this treatment, the time-consuming and worse than 
useless operations of har-sliearing, scraping, and chopping out 
are saved, as much to the benefit of the tender plant, as to the 
interest and economy of the planter, in despatching the hurry 
and push at this stage of the crop ; and at the conclusion of 
this first working, I have my cotton growing off, and doing 
well. I have now no further use for a plough in its subse- 
quent culture, but use the sweep — a kind of horse-hoe — I call 
it a sweep in the absence of a more appropriate name. 

[Here follows a wood-cut representation ot the sweep, a 
kind of plough used by some planters at the South. The one 
here recommended is made by welding two narrow wings over 
the point of a scooter, or bull-tongue, inclining backwards, 
with the ends of the wings two feet apart. It is so fixed upon 
the stock (that of a common shovel-plough) that it will not 
enter the ground deeper than one inch, if so deep.] 

The great and singular advantages of the sweep over all 
instruments of the plough, harrow, or hoe kind that I have 



56 COTTON planter's manual. 

ever used, are tliese — that it will kill a greater quantity of 
grass and weeds in a given time, and do less injury to the 
surface roots of the plant, so essential to its progressive pros- 
perity. The hoe-hands follow this instrument, thin the cotton 
to a stand, one stalk in a place, and draw up a small quantity 
of soil to the standing plant. The entire subsequent culture 
is performed with the sweep and hoe, which should simply 
scrape and pulverize the surface, so as to kill any grass and 
weeds that may appear, and allow Sifree circulation of atmos- 
pheric air to the fibrous roots of the fruiting stalk, requiring 
at this critical 'period all the aid and nourishment that culture, 
soil, and atmosphere can afford. By the 1st of July my 
cotton stands from five to nine feet high, and I have it topped 
by the 10th, at farthest, after which I run the sweep once 
through it, and the hoe, if necessary, to remove any grass that 
may have sprung up immediately above the stalk. After this, 
and by this time, frequently in places the cotton will be so 
much interlocked, and the ground so shaded, as to keep down 
all other vegetation ; y^t it may be found necessary again to 
chop about in places with the hoe, when the cotton may not 
have locked so early. This should be invariably attended to. 
This brings us again to the season of harvesting the staple. 

Let no planter prejudge and reject this system, upon the 
score of simplicity, supposing the process too simple to accom- 
plish the object proposed ; first, act wisely, make the experi- 
ment, and try it. Strictly follow this plain and simple process, 
and if the land does not reward your pains-taking, with Jive 
or six-fold the quantity per acre, of a superior staple, than has 
at any previous season been taken from it, in its natural state, 
I will present the experimenter with one bushel of my m- 
p)roved seed, with which to perfect the experiment. At another 
time I propose devoting a paragraph to the importance of 
selecting and improving cotton seed. 



MANURING, PLANTING AND TENDING. 57 

It will be observed that manuring constitutes a large item 
in this system of improvement, a source of revenue too much 
underrated by planters, and conseq^uently too much neglected, 
because the subject requires a little extra attention — which 
attention is so essential to the prosperity and well-doing of a 
farm. Nor, gentlemen, have I seen anything better said, or 
more true, than I find in the sentiment, under the head of a 
few queries, in the last December Cultivator, where you 
remark to the planter and farmer, " In your manures is your 
gold mine, more valuable than any of the Carolina ones, and 
you should be anxious to increase them accordingly." But I 
hear some planters say, " It is impossible to produce so much 
manure;" this is, however, the result of inexperience, and 
the want of determination, I am entirely convinced, from my 
experience in making manure, that it is not only practicable, 
but a perfectly easy task to prepare, upon every plantation in 
the cotton region, great or small, 1500 bushels of an excellent 
article of compost, per annum, to the hand, at a cost of less 
than two cents per bushel, by the assistance of the stock of 
horses, cows and hogs, upon properly arranged lots. This is 
done by having the lots well littered, by throwing in pine 
straw, in large quantities and frequently, or oak leaves, where 
the pine straw is not to be had, with cotton and corn stalks, 
&c., and occasionally haul and scatter upon the litter a few 
loads of muck or marl, one or both of which may be found on 
or near every farm in the country ; upon these lots, pen and 
feed your stock every night. The manure thus prepared, 
should be collected in pens or pits, three or four times during 
the year, after heavy falls of rain, and the lots replenished 
with pine straw, &c. ; by this means a very large amount of 
manure is collected during the season, and that, too, at an in- 
appreciable cost. Again, we have another difficulty. There 
are but few persons who believe that pine straw can be con- 
3^ 



58 COTTON planter's manual. 

verted into manure ; for the benefit and information of such, 
who may read this, permit me to quote a single sentence from 
Liebig's celebrated work upon Agricultural Chemistry : " The 
bark and foliage of oaks contain from six to nine per cent, of 
potash. The needles of firs and pines, eight per cent." But 
it is not on account of the potash exclusively, that I prefer 
pine straw, to all other vegetable matter, in the preparation of 
manure, since it possesses another invaluable quality, above 
all others, in absorbing the juices of the manure, which are 
thus saved from evaporation, and readily applied to the land. 
I doubt not but a single year's experience will convince every 
intelligent planter of the innumerable advantages of this im- 
provement, and its perfect adaption to the culture of cotton 
and other crops. 

I will now close this number by a very few remarks upon 
the character and quality of the soil upon which my experi- 
ments have been conducted. It is a high ridge-land, readily 
recognized, and its quality distinctly understood, in our south- 
ern country, under the name oi forked-teaf, black-jachj pine- 
harren, a deep, porous, sandy, superstratum, lying under a 
tolerable good clay, at a distance of two to three feet below 
the surface, A true picture of nature, and naturally poor en- 
ough. This land, under the treatment above detailed, grew 
■mj cotton, from which I have gathered a greater number of 
pounds per acre, (indeed, almost double,) that I have ever 
seen recorded, is in its natural state, inferior to the average 
quality of cotton land, by at least one-half. I might refer you, 
if necessary, to more than one hundred gentlemen, planters 
from Georgia and Alabama, who have examined my experi- 
ments carefully, and several of them at various stages of its 
growth, and with one general consent, pronounced it a fair 
test, and a great improvement. I have, from several stalks 
that grew on the three acres, in the proper places, taken three 



PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE. 59 

and a-half to four pounds of cotton, carefully weighed. In the 
perfection of this improvement, yet in a state of great crude- 
ness, when every stalk upon the acre (2940) shall mature 
equally well, what may I reasonably calculate to gather ? 

" Nil desperandum, 

Possunt quia, posse videntur." 

N. B. CLOUD, MJ). 
Planters' Retreat, Ala., Dec. 26, 1842. 



SECTION II. — PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE IM- 
PROVED CULTURE OF COTTON. 

From the Albany Cultivator. 

Messrs. Gaylord and Tucker: — Entertaining the profoundest 
respect and the kindest feelings towards the opinions and 
practices of those planters who are greatly my seniors in 
age and in agricultural experience, I propose, now, to en- 
gage in discussing *' the principles and philosophy of this 
improvement in the culture of cotton." I will first remark 
directly, gentlemen, what I have intimated throughout this 
correspondence — that in conducting these experiments, and 
in advocating the claims of this improvement, (the leading 
and meritorious features of which belong to your invaluable 
Cultivator,) I have had no ambition to gratify which is not 
common to the lover of science and agricultural improvement ; 
nor have I any interests to subserve thereby, which may not 
be the privilege of every planter in the country, however 
humble his pretensions or ability. Yet, admonished as I have 
been, by the precipitate and unmeasured tirade of vituperation 
and spleen which my first paper excited among the corps edi- 



60 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

torial of tlie country, and others of the " skinning gently," I 
have not ventured upon this most delicate position, though long 
promised, Avithout again revising carefully and practically, the 
principles and ability of this system. 

In my first paper, it will be recollected, I stated the grand 
object which this system of improved culture proposes to ac- 
complish for the planting interest of the country ; and I also 
gave there a fair and impartial, and a most satisfactory expose 
of that system, (if such it may be styled,) by which the cotton 
plant is at present grown. In my second number, I gave in 
detail, in an equally plain and simple manner, the modus ope- 
randi by which my experiments were conducted. This was 
no second-hand report, or say-so of another person ; but in part 
the work of my own hands, and the entire management under 
my immediate supervision. In this paper, I propose giving 
the why and the wherefore for all this — at least, in my humble 
opinion ; and to point out the inconsistent^ the reckless and 
grassy policy of the present practices of the country, as com- 
pared with the systematic, economical and philosophic policy of 
this improvement. 

It is my purpose, gentlemen, first to give you a correct 
sketch of the botanic characteristics of the cotton plant, as we 
meet with it under the circumstance of its most favorable cul- 
ture. I do not offer this in the spirit of ostentation, to appear 
learned from the technicals used, (the necessary peculiarity of 
every science.) My object is simply to call attention to a 
subject — too much neglected by planters — about which the 
books are carelessly in error; and a proper knowledge of 
which, in my opinion, tends greatly to indicate the best or 
right mode of culture. 

The botanic name, then, of the plant we cultivate, is Gas- 
sy fium herbaceum ; we find it in the fifteenth class of the 
Linnean system, {Mo7iadelphiat) and in the thirteenth order. 



PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE. 61 

{Polyandria.) The first leaves that make their appearance 
after the cotyledons, three to six are ovate, and indicate cer- 
tainly the sucker or branch limbs, that will first put out from 
the stalk. After these, we have the cotton leaf proper, three 
to five luhed, and mercronate, with one gland upon the ?nid-rib 
beneath ; these leaves invariably indicate the arm limb, grow- 
ing out horizontally, and articulated, forming at each joint one 
or more balls ; coming out with the arm limb, we have almost 
invariably a branch limb, with several balls — or a stem, with 
one to three balls. The stalk is Z?!^^o-herbaceous and pu- 
bescent — and in our climate an annual, attaining the height of 
six to ten feet. The period of flowering is from iOth June to 
frost; the calix double, the outer one three-cleft; capsule 
three to five celled^ with seven to nine seeds in a cell, involved 
in the staple. Early in the morning the milk-wliite* bloom 
may be seen, in the form of a conic scroll, emerging from the 
fringe-work of its outer calix ; and with the rising sun it un- 
folds the segments of its petal, and by one hour by sun we 
behold the full blown bell-formed flower. Thus, blooming 
white, it remains till twelve o'clock ; when, within fifteen 
minutes thereafter, we may observe by the naked eye, a faint 
ray of pink skirting the thin margins of the segments, which 
pink color may be seen, by one to two o'clock, to have diffused 
itself throughout the bloom. It thus continues changing from 
white to red, till sun up the next morning, when it will be 
found a beautiful brilliant pink : now with the rising sun it 
gradually wilts, and by twelve o'clock it drops off, leaving a 
distinct^ formed ball, securely sheltered by its calix. 

This description, which is strictly correct, differs in several 
of its particulars from Eaton's, and from the miserably errone- 
ous engraving and description of the same, to be found at page 

* The Sea-Island Cotton bloom is yellow. 



62 COTTON planter's manual. 

307 of " Sears' Wonders of the World ; and yet, strange to 
say, tliis same engraving, with probably but a single correct 
feature, is copied into the American Agriculturist., in illustra- 
tion of an article by Dr. Philips. I might point out a half 
dozen en*ors in that engraving ; it will answer my present 
purpose, however, that I detain 3'ou with but two or three such 
notices. You will first observe the bloom, and the description 
given, and you will agree with me at once, that Mr. Sears has 
been hugged by an okra flower; the cotton bloom, in its healthy 
state, is never so much flared, nor has it any red spots in the 
bottom. Observe again, to the left, that young ball with its 
drooping calix ; that is altogether unnatural, and is never seen 
except where the worm is or has been. You will observe the 
same error in the opening ball ; every little boy, who has 
picked but fifty pounds of cotton, will tell you if that were the 
fact, there would be no trashy cotton. I am sure Dr. Philips 
has detected these blunders, with others equally evident. 
This, I suppose, will be considered a small matter, about 
which nobody is at fault ; because even intelligent planters 
have never thought it worth while to give a correct descrip- 
tion of the cotton plant. This same carelessness is observed, 
when we cast our eyes upon the large map of Alabama ; we 
there see a most imposing engraving of a large fancy plants 
with its one hundred and one en'ors, if called a cotton plant. 
Observe again, the beautiful and chaste vignette of our own 
excellent and cherished Southern Cultivator : we see there an 
engraving designed for the cotton plant, yet I am sure if the 
2)endent open balls were painted red, you would sooner take it 
for a pomegranate bush ! 

To the planter who is satisfied merely to plod along, the 
inanimate imitator of some skinning neighbor, this sketch will 
appear a tedious and uninteresting detail. I am convinced, 
however, of its importance — and there is a spirit of improve- 



PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE. 63 

ment abroad in the land, whicli requires just sucli detail of 
fact ; because it is not possible, at least it is extremely im- 
probable, that we succeed in improving and perfecting the 
culture of any article of vegetation, until we make ourselves 
well acquainted with its natural characteristics. Hence I re- 
mark, that when we look upon the stately pyramidal appear- 
ance of an improved cotton stalk, grown under favorable cir- 
cumstances, we observe at once — indeed, we are forcibly struck 
with the distance proper in its arrangement upon the soil, which 
is so clearly indicated. Again, we observe an uncommonly 
large amount of foliage for an annual, besides some three to 
four pounds of seed-cotton upon the stalks — literally crowded 
from its base, upon an area of some fifteen to twenty square 
feet, to its apex, at the height of six feet. Now, in view of 
these clearly established facts, the invariable eifect of certain 
well defined causes, I shall not suppose any planter so dull as 
not to know what course to pursue, if he find that it requires 
a given amount of grain to grow a pig to a given size in one 
year, that to produce another such pig the next season, the 
necessary amount of food or grain must be first supplied. 
Without the food, the pig will be found at the end of the year 
a landpike ; and so the cotton, without the geine and manure, 
will be found, as is too common, the little Frederick I Were 
I to assume an affirmative position in this analogy, every 
planter would reply instanter, and most indignantly too — Sir, 
you are behind the times ; our own sage Franklin, more than 
a half century ago, in his friendly advice to Poor Richard, has 
assured us, " that by constantly taking out of the meal tub 
and never putting in, we shall soon find the bottom." Philo- 
sophically true this — good homespun, and sound doctrine ; yet 
plain and simple as be this doctrine, the cotton planter knows 
it only in song — his acquaintance with this golden truth is 
theoretic entirely. His exhausted fields and dwarfish, puny 



64 COTTON plantee's manual. 

cotton, tell tales more positively contradictory and gloomy, 
than I have room or inclination here to enumerate. 

The governing principle, then, in this improvement, is to 
give constant and diligent attention to keep the meal tub well 
supplied. In the first place, produce and haul out upon your 
land a sufficiency of good manure, fully to supply the require- 
ments of the plant all the season. In another place, I have 
shown that it is a jDerfectly easy matter to produce this manure, 
to which I will further add here, that the decaying materials 
abound spontaneously, scattered up and down, filling each 
nook and corner on every plantation, during all the season, a 
wasting nuisance that might be easily collected, and converted 
into a profitable revenue, if but one-third the time and atten- 
tion, otherwise sedulously consumed in the butchery of the 
soil, in a petite war against grass and weeds, the inevitable 
produce of such latitudinarian systems of culture, was devoted 
to that most valuable employment. In this most important 
department of agriculture, science is actively engaged in ren- 
dering the planter the most essential service. 

Having derived these important indications from the figure 
and natural characteristics of a perfectly matured cotton plant, 
the judgment of the planter is brought into active requisition 
in properly adjusting its relative position in width of row and 
its situation on the drill, in order that we secure the greatest 
possible advantage in its subsequent culture. My own ex- 
perience inclines me to the opinion, that when land is im- 
proved only to the extent of one hundred and fifty to two 
hundred bushels of manure per acre, less than fifteen square 
superficial feet to each stalk will be too close. Nor will im- 
provement carried to five times that extent, require greater 
distance than twenty square feet to each stalk. Since, then, 
it is found necessary that each stalk occupy this distance, it 
would appear that the simplest course would be to lay off the 



PRINCIPLES AXD PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE. 65 

rows equi-distant each way. Tlie question is frequently- 
asked, " Why not lay off the land four by four feet, or five by 
four feet ?" There is a very serious objection to this simple 
plan, which every planter must perceive on a moment's re- 
flection. In either case, the cotton will be found so entirely 
interlocked by the 20th of June to the 1st of July, as to for- 
bid further work ; yet we find, under the most favorable cir- 
cumstances of seasons and culture, that it will take the stalk 
until the 10th of July to attain the height of six feet, short of 
T^hich we should not top it, nor earlier in the season ; and it 
is very desirable, and highly necessary even, that the cotton 
be swept once after topping it, which we find impracticable 
unless the rows be laid off wide one way, with a view to that 
desirable operation. Upon land, then, that is but moderately 
improved, I prefer the rows north and south five feet, by three 
feet east and west ; and upon land in a higher state of improve- 
ment, six feet by forty inches will be found the best distance. 
Though we shall find the stalk a little crowded the narrow 
way by this course, yet we secure the more important advan- 
tage, in being able to scrape and pulverize the surface later 
in the season. I suppose there to be other advantages like- 
wise, in this plan of laying the rows at right angles, north 
and south, and east and west, and bedding the land north and 
south ; which, however, must form the subject of another 
article. 

The next object to which I shall direct your attention, is 
the mode of culture which I conceive to be necessary in the 
after management of the cotton plant; the correctness, and 
even superiority of which, I hope to establish as clearly here^ 
as in practice it has so triumphantly succeeded. The con- 
stant and invariable success which attends this improvement 
in my hands, is the result of a strict and scrupulous adherence 
to system in its management. Every science and every pro- 



66 COTTON planter's manual. 

fession among men, whicli is either useful or valuable, ac- 
quires both respect and importance on account of system. 
System is essential to certain success in every undertaking ; 
and especially is it necessary in this the first of all profes- 
sions. 

The principal object I have had in view, in all this manuring, 
thorough ploughing, laying off and bedding the land previous 
to planting the seed, has not been to plant alone ; men plant 
abstractly, as handsomely and with the sarne facility, with 
less labor ; it has been done to encourage and facilitate the 
early and extensive growth of the fibrous and soil roots, by 
which means the plant readily and e(][ually early, augments 
the extent of surface (in number and length of its limbs,) for 
fruiting, and the consequent number of its organs of atmos- 
pheric nutrition. The immense advantages which the plant 
^derives from an early accomplishment of an object so desir- 
able, are at once obvious when we recollect "that the soil and 
atmosphere offer the same kind of nourishment to the roots 
and leaves of the plant." There can be no reasonable doubt, 
though I possess not the means of positive measurement, but 
that the plant multiplies its organs of atmospheric nutrition 
in precisely the same ratio that an improved and judicious 
system of culture facilitates the growth and prosperity of its 
roots. There is also another interesting consideration con- 
nected with this subject, which I esteem worthy of notice in 
this place ; which is, that though the soil and atmosphere 
offer the same kind of nourishment to the roots and leaves of 
the plant, yet the character of its assimilation and consequent 
appropriation widely differ. My own opinion is, that the 
roots assimilate food for the production of the stems and leaves 
mainly, and that the leaves assimilate the same for the pro- 
duction and maturity of the blooms and fruit. I do not claim 
originality for this opinion ; I think I have seen it hinted at 



PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OP CULTURE. 67 

in some work on vegetable physiology, though I cannot now 
say where.* I have been governed by this impression, at 
least in conducting my experiments, which have not as yet 
been of a sufficiently varied character to enable me to deter- 
mine and assert the fact positively. My attention was first 
called to this interesting subject while investigating the cause 
and effect of rust upon the cotton plant, which every planter 
has seen, some of the features of which would seem to 
strengthen this position. How desirable is it, then, if all this 
be fact, that we adopt such system in our after management 
as will not only preserve this natural chain of action unim- 
paired, but encourage its progressive prosperity ? It is not 
enough, however, that we thus dismiss this part of the sub- 
ject ; its importance requires of us a much more simple and 
extended view. 

We will commence, then, at that age of the plant at which 
it is first worked, by examining the roots of two stalks ; we 
pull up one in the ordinary way of thinning cotton, that is, 
we take hold of the stem and draw it up, and we have a single 
long root (in most instances), tapering to a point ; we have 
simply the tap root. We will take up the other with a spade 
or hoe, the stalk standing in the centre of some six to eight 
inches square of soil, we then gently sift or shake the soil 
from the roots, and we have a fair specimen of the cotton 
root; we have what is properly meant by tap root, a plant 
with a main root long and tap-like, or tapering, dipping deep 

*"' Since writing the above I see in a report of the sitting of the Academy 
of Sciences for August the 14th, a paper v/as received from M. Dutrochet, 
on the production and ripening of fruits. This gentleman states " that the 
removal of the leaves of fruit trees, in order to expose the fruit to the di- 
rect influence of the air and light, is exceedingly destructive." I suppose 
he means destructive to the fruit. If so, his experiments would seem to 
corroborate this opinion. 



68 coTTOx planter's manual. 

into the soil ; besides this tap root, however, we find on almost 
innumerable quantity of fibrous or surface roots, diverging in 
every direction, as long, in many instances, as the tap root 
itself, and coming out, generally, from one-half to one inch be- 
low the surface. This is a fact worthy of notice, with which 
every planter may, if not already aware of it, acquaint him- 
self early the next season. This may appear to some persons 
a very simple and a very trivial investigation, yet I find in it 
a most satisfactory solution of the immense injury which the 
cotton plant sustains, from the multifarious policy of the coun- 
try. I remark, then, as the plant comes forward, so the tap 
root (where it exists, though an unnecessary appendage in 
our climate), sinks deep into the soil, while the fibrous or sur- 
face roots multiply and shoot in every direction ; hence, I say, 
*' as early as possibly convenient," after the plant is up, 
" plough out the middles well, the wide way, having first run 
around the plant with a scooter-plough." The main object in 
this operation, is once more, before the surface roots have come 
out so far as to sustain injury, to thoroughly loosen the soil, 
and again commingle it wdth the manure. The plant being 
now thinned down to two or three stalks in a place, and a 
small quantity of soil, molded about the hill, is left in this 
most favorable and growing situation. In the course of some 
fifteen to twenty days, when we retui-n to work it again, it 
will be found to have come forward rapidly, standing from 
twelve to fifteen inches in height, and finely limbed. If we 
now take the trouble to examine a hill or stalk, we shall find 
an amount of earth included within the circuit of these fibrous 
and soil roots, as they penetrate all parts of the loamy mold, 
in pursuit of the luscious geine (like a flock of sheep fresh 
upon a rich pasture), that will weigh more than a hand can 
tote. With these facts before us, let us turn our attention for 
a moment to the practices of the country, at this stage of 



PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE. 69 

operations. One planter will now commence work, and tlie 
plant, standing from ten to twelve inches high, " with a bull- 
tongue or scooter-plough," and he will dagger into the soil, as 
close to the plant as he can possibly get, gome three to four 
inches deep — he says, " to loosen up the earth, that the tap 
root may go down." Another planter will again, the second 
and third time, run the bar of a turn-plough to the cotton — he 
says, " to kill the grass ;" thus it stands bedded in the mid- 
dles, and " steaming" a few days, when these hot-beds are 
ploughed out ; though I have even seen it barred the third 
time, before ploughing out the middles ! All this may answer 
the jpicT'pose fully, and even look very well to the planter that 
operates to kill grass ; but we have a latent cause operating 
destructively in this practice, and though the certain effect is 
not always willingly recognized, in the turning yellow and 
falling leaves of the plant, it is not, however, the less obvious. 
The planters operating thus will tell you, in the first instance, 
** this cotton has received a fine working ; there's not a sprig 
of grass or weeds to be seen ; but it does not grow off as it 
should ; this little dry spell has checked its growth." But 
partial showers may have fallen upon the other man's cotton ; 
he says, *' See my cotton ; how clean and nice it is worked, 
though it is too wet, and does not grow ; rainy toeather does 
not suit cotton." This is the logic (I will not say universal) 
of the devotees of this grass-killing policy, in accounting for 
its disastrous consequences, and will, I am sure, be very read- 
ily recognized as such by every impartial man. Now, the 
truth is, I will illustrate the whole difficulty here, by a very 
simple, though rather uncouth simile ; it is, however, not the 
less pertinent to my present purpose, because men are not to 
be benefited, nor wiil they improve in the practice of any 
science or profession, unless they exercise the faculties of 
thinking and reasoning, though such exercise be bought at the 



70 COTTOX planter's manual. 

expense, of decent ridicule. We will suppose the planter 
operation in this was, having received a pair of fine Berkshire 
pigs, says to his trusty man. Sambo, " take this bushel of corn 
to the barn-yard, and feed those pigs well ; I want them to 
grow large and fatP Well, Sambo, always anxious to carry 
out the views of his master, and having carefully watched his 
operations in the treatment of his cotton, to make it grow large, 
takes up the basket, and then, providing himself with a ham- 
mer or hatchet, he proceeds to the yard ; he first takes hold 
upon the gentle, unsuspecting grunters, one by one, and, with 
his instrument, knocks or breaks out their teeth, find then, 
throwing down the corn, he returns to the house with spirits 
buoyant, in the consciousness of having so consistently dis- 
charged his duty ! " Well, Sambo, you have given those pigs 
plenty of corn, ha ?" " Yes, sir, they are well fed." In a 
few days he takes a friend to look at the fine Berkshires. 
Yes, Sambo has given them corn plentifully ; there it lies by 
them ! But this is too plain a case ; the pigs have the teeth- 
ache, and they are broken off, too ! neither the wet nor the dry 
weather has caused the mischief here ! And yet the pigs, 
like the cotton, have only their teeth hroken off' ! ! Poor 
Sambo ! we leave him to explain to the world the rationale of 
this root and teeth-hreaJcing policy. 

N. B. CLOUD, M.D. 
Macon Co., Ala., Nov. 1, 1843. 



SECTION in. — EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON. 

Gov. Broome : — Immediately on ascertaining the result of 
my first extensive experiment in manuring and spacing cotton, 
I communicated the facts to the Albany Cultivator, an agri- 
cultural paper that had, at that time, quite a large circula- 



EXPEKIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON. 71 

tion in the cotton-growing States. My object, as expressed at 
the time, was to have these experiments tested in various sec- 
tions of the cotton-growing region. I gave the details care- 
fully and minutely. I saw all the difficulties, and feared the 
result in the hands of gentlemen less interested than myself. 
The great principle of the improvement was a fixed fact. The 
extraordinary yield of cotton, the small area of land, naturally 
very poor, occupied in its production, and the home means 
employed, were facts too striking, and of too much importance, 
to be overlooked or slightly regarded by me. 

As I have stated previously, it mattered not in a " first, 
crude experiment," what amount of personal trouble it gave 
me to so adjust and arrange these home means to produce such 
extraordinary results. The greatest difficulty connected with 
this experiment, was the trouble in getting a stand, — next to 
an impossibility. I had never seen manure applied to crops 
in any other way than in the hill, which succeeds finely Avith 
corn, but with cotton it is entirely different. Where the ma- 
nure applied in the hills for cotton is worth the labor of appli- 
cation, and enough is used to produce a decided benefit, one 
half the hills at least, will either fail to come up or die imme- 
diately after coming up. This is an inherent difficulty in the 
plant itself, from its mode of germination, which I ascertained 
during the three succeeding years that I devoted to the sub- 
ject for the express purpose of overcoming this main difficulty. 
The cotton seed, in the process of germination, attracts from 
the surrounding soil, and from the atmosphere, an unusual 
amount of water, as compared with other seed undergoing 
this process. Any artificial condition of the soil, which con- 
centrates immediately about the cotton seed at this time an 
undue quantity of alkaline, gaseous matter, causes this fluid, 
contained in the tender, reticulated, or mesh-Hke incipient 
vegetable fibre, to undergo a species of fermentation, which 



72 coTTox planter's manual. 

of course destroys the vitality of the young plant. The plant 
is subject to this influence where a remunerative quantity of 
good manure, either compost, guano, or chemicals of any kind, 
has been used in the hill, even after having put out the third 
and fourth leaves. 

Whether philosophically explained or not, the discovery of 
the fact cost me three years of the closest investigation. The 
tap root of the cotton plant does not make its way into the 
soil a perfectly organized root ; the sprout which is the root, 
leaving the seed at the small end, dips directly downward, 
where it commences pouring out a semi-fluid substance, which 
is attracted downward partly by gravitation, and partly, per- 
haps, by electricity. This substance, like a small streak of 
smoke, is remarkably fragile, constantly and rapidly descend- 
ing. It is the mould in which the tap root is formed. Any 
person who will take the trouble, can ascertain this fact for 
himself. Thus it is easy to understand how it is, that an un- 
natural, alkalization of the soil in the immediate vicinity of 
such condition of vegetable existence, should affect its vitality. 

At the end of the third year, I determined upon a new 
mode of application, entirely, which consisted in spreading 
all the manure used broadcast. This was done by hauling 
the manure out on the land and depositing in heap rows, say 
thirty feet apart, and the heaps thirty feet apart in the rows, 
with ten bushels of manure in each heap. The cotton-rows 
being first laid, the manure was spread broadcast, and the 
land bedded out. On or about the 10th of April, the cotton seeds 
were planted after a spacer, by which the hills are regulated 
precisely as desired. The result was a perfect stand, with 
the cotton healthy, and all of the same age. There is no diffi- 
culty in understanding the difference here in favor of broad- 
casting the manure, and in bedding out the rows. It is not 
deposited, a half-gallon in a place, but is incorporated evenly 



EXPERIMENTS IN MANURING COTTON. 73 

and uniformly tlirougliout all the soil. The consequence is, 
that however rich the manure may be in alkaline matter, its 
thorough incorporation with the soil, so quickly and effectively 
dilutes it, as to render it entirely inoxuous to young cotton. 
There was no part of the experiment that gave me so much 
satisfaction as this. Every planter knows the value of a first, 
uniform and perfect stand. I use the term perfect, because 
by the use of the spacer, I approximate nearer a perfect stand 
than it is possible to accomplish by any other process. 

From the interest and close attention bestowed upon this 
subject in all its various relations, the season had not expired 
before I clearly saw — as I then thought, and as subsequent 
experiment has and still is demonstrating, — a grand system of 
plantation economy, destined to revolutionize entirely the petty 
land-wasting customs of the country. You nor I, my very 
dear sir, may never live to see the day when that very last 
man shall cease to lay his cotton-rows up one hill and down 
the other, thus draining off the vitality of his land every three 
to three and a-half feet, to the depth of his puny plough, or to 
waste the sure means of keeping up the fertility of his fields, 
by feeding his stock in the public roads, or on the branch-side; • 
but, with the lights of science and experience before us, wisdom 
clearly points out the course which it is our duty to pursue 
while we do live, from a three-fold binding consideration : 
first, our individual interest ; then the true interest of our 
country ; and, lastly, the obligation we are under to the true 
interests of our children, to use diligently every means in our 
power, to inform ourselves and the public mind as to the most 
economical modes of plantation economy. I have no patience 
with the inactive, inoperative friendship for agricultural im- 
provement, of those clever gentlemen who tell me continually : 
Sir, your systems are beautiful, your exertions are praise- 
worthy, all your manure and manure-making, with your grade- 
4 



74 COTTON planter's manual. 

ditching and horizontaling, and your rotations, &c., &c., are 
conditions actually essential to the improvement of our agri- 
culture ; but, — say they,— like every other country, this beau- 
tiful forest must be felled by the ruthless hand of Mr. Carenot, 
all this maiden and fertile soil must first be exhausted and 
washed into the branches, gurgling in pure and limpid water 
from the hand of nature, and the fields defaced by gullies and 
poverty-grass, and not till then can we give in to a complete 
and perfect system of improvement. 

I beg to be distinctly understood here, as alluding to the great 
principles of improvement, and not to any individual practice 
under it. In my own practice and system of rotation, which 
I have had in successful operation here at La Place since 1846, 
I am not immovably confident that I have hit upon that ar- 
rangement under the principle that is to accomphsh the best 
results. So sanguine am I, however, that it is worthy of 
general adoption in its main features, that I feel no hesitation 
in commending it to the consideration of those planters who 
have determined to begin the good work of improvement. 
As a matter of course, the circumstances of locality will, to 
some more or less extent, modify the practice ; but the prin- 
ciple remains the same. 

Having thus disposed of the Experiments, I shall, in several 
subsequent numbers, treat the subject as a matured system 
of plantation economy ; showing, as I think, and, as my prac- 
tice clearly proves, the eminent advantage of a proper rotation, 
even in cotton planting. In doing this, I shall respond to 
your various inquiries of stock, stock-feeding and manure- 
making, &c., as they come in place. 

DR. CLOUD. 



SYSTEM AND ROTATION. 75 



ECTION IV, — SYSTEM AND ROTATION IN COTTON CULTURE. 

Gov. Broome: — I propose, in this article, to detail that 
system of rotation and shift of crops which I have in success- 
ful operation here at La Place, and which has thus far given 
entire satisfaction. In adjusting and adopting this arrange- 
ment, I have not been governed so much by the largest amount 
of cotton that might be grown on the plantation, as by the 
amount of independence in plantation economy, which the ca- 
pacity of the farm, under proper management, is competent to 
secure to the labor and pains-taking of the proprietor. In 
other words, after innumerable experiments and tests, this 
system has been adopted as the one best and surest, calculated 
to feed and clothe the operatives of the plantation, supply all 
the stock necessary to its various uses, improve annually and 
protect the fertility of the land, and leave, at the end of each 
year, the proceeds of a fair cotton crop as the clear profits of 
the plantation with all its outfit. I shall not presume to say 
that there have not been favored localities in the older plant- 
ing States east of this, whereon three of the above-stated 
important conditions of plantation independence were for a 
time possessed; nor do I say that there are not such favored 
localities in the new or western States ; but this I will say, 
that the total absence and disregard of the fourth and all- 
important condition, the improvement and protection of the 
fertility of the soil, together with the increasing population of 
the country, having shorn such favored localities in the old 
States of these advantages, will deprive them in the new States, 
wherever the great principle of improvement is disregarded, in 
the absence of some system of plantation economy that might 
otherwise sustain them. It is this great error, this fatal error 
in the plantation economy of the cotton-growing States, I have 



76 COTTON planter's manual. 

diligently, for fifteen years, sought a remedy for. I have at 
no time been interested to teach planters how to make large 
crops of cotton and corn on rich land. I do not know an in- 
dustrious man in Macon county, who cannot grow a large crop 
of cotton and corn if he "has rich land to cultivate. Sambo, 
with no other instruction but the observation gathered from 
the hurried directions of his overseer, can, and frequently has, 
on rich land, made a big crop of cotton. And it is in this phase 
of the question that this fatal error is seen in its strongest light. 
Look back, if you please, toward the rising sun, and see the 
scant pittance with which land, once rich in its maiden fertility, 
now rewards the industrious labor of the merely plougher and 
Jioer. 

My chief object has been, in patiently prosecuting these ex- 
periments, and in v^atching and investigating their results, to 
devise a system of plantation economy which, while it will, in 
the aggregate, bountifully remunerate the industrious labor 
and pains-taking of the planter, will, at the same time, make 
poor land rich, and rich land better. The allurements of an 
honorable and lucrative profession, and the jibes with the 
pointing finger of ridicule from kind friends, have proved 
equally unavailing in diverting my attention for a moment 
from the one great object ; and I may now exclaim, and do, 
triumphantly, EureJca I — I have found it ! And if there be a 
single feature about this system that affords me more pleasure 
than another, it is, that the perfection of the system, with all 
its advantages, are as accessible to the planter of humble 
means, as to the planter of more extended means. There is 
nothing foreign, intricate, or costly about it. It is the pro 
duction of the country, the soil, and the climate where we 
live. 

It is immaterial what number of hands may work on the 
place, we allot to each twenty acres, and upon this condition 



SYSTEM AND ROTATION. 77 

proceed to divide tlie land into four equal parts, adopting the 
system of four years' sliift as best suited to our plantation econ- 
omy. The first object which I direct attention to, is to grade 
— ditch the land where necessary (which it is generally), and 
horizontal the rows perfectly level — this is proper and superior 
to all other plans on sandy land. In the next place, I fix the 
rotation, and shift thus : five acres to each hand in cotton, ten 
acres for grain, and five to lie in fallow. Our system of shift- 
ing crops proceeds in this way. I plant cotton on the same 
land once in four years, and the cotton is always planted on 
fallow land, with a dressing of 500 bushels of compost or stock 
yard manure per acre, which is spread on the land broad-cast, 
and incorporated with the soil uniformly in the process of bed- 
ding out the rows. This will be more minutely explained 
under the head of "Application of Manures." Let it be borne 
in mind now, that this land is perfectly level, and that all rain 
water sinks into the soil where it falls, and the residue of the 
cotton stalks, leaves, burs, blooms and limbs, with the seed, 
except for planting, are all returned back to the same land 
where they grew. Upon this land the next year we plant corn, 
manuring it with cotton seed. But to our corn crop, which I 
regard as the most important crop on the plantation, we add 
two acres of the land which was in corn last year, thus giving 
us seven acres in corn to each hand. On the other three acres 
of that portion that was in corn last year, we sow small grain, 
which upon land thus treated, will furnish a sufficiency of oats, 
rye, and wheat, for the wants of the plantation, when you 
have such a crop of corn as we provide for. Then we have 
lying in fallow, for the next year's cotton crop, the three acres 
that were in small grain last year. Every one will see at 
once the simplicity of this system of rotation and shift of crops. 
I will now endeavor, as briefly as possible, to give the rea- 
sons why I believe this to be the best system of rotation and 



78 COTTON planter's manual. 

sbift of crops that can be adopted in a cotton-growing country. 
In the first place, it embraces all the conditions necessary to 
sustain the cotton-planting interest within itself, independent 
of external or foreign aid. To this feature, I think, there 
cannot be too much importance attached. Again, the several 
crops succeed each other to better advantage, both as to their 
culture and healthy growth, than in any other way that we 
have seen or attempted. It may not be generally understood 
by planters from practice, because it is not a common practice, 
indeed it is of the rarest occurrence, how well cotton grows 
after one year's rest or fallow. I conceive it to be, in its 
healthy, vigorous growth, and exemption from insects, more 
like growing cotton on fresh land. Nor will this be difficult 
for any planter to comprehend, when he recollects that on the 
fallow I spread 500 bushels per acre of good stock-yard com- 
post, or its equivalent. 

I am sure I shall have no difficulty in persuading any 
planter that corn grows better, bears better, and is less 
trouble to cultivate after cotton, than after any other crop. 
So well, indeed, does it do, after a crop of cotton that has re- 
ceived a dressing of 500 bushels per acre of manure, that it is 
yet a matter of uncertainty with me, after twelve years' ex- 
perience, whether or not a good corn crop is not more certain 
without than with the seed ; and if we have drought, it is cer- 
tainly best not to use the seed on corn thus treated. Then 
we have the seed to add to our compost heap for our cotton. 
Then, again, the effect of the corn and small grain crops on 
the land being about the same, I prefer placing the small 
grain after the corn, as it does better after corn than corn does 
after it. After the small grain, the land lies one year in fal- 
low. I have a theory about this four years' shift and one 
year in fallow, in regard to its curative influence upon the 
diseases of the cotton plant. Of course I cannot go into its 



SYSTEM AND EOTATION. 79 

explanation here, but I give it as my opinion, that if the same 
land throughout the country was planted in cotton but once in 
four years, it would prevent the insect of rust — I am sure it 
would of lice, and I think it altogether probable it would do 
much toward relieving it from the injury of the bole worm. 

Under this treatment the plantation is every year improv- 
ing. From the extent of pasturage which it affords, and the 
large amount of corn raised on the plantation, an average of 
250 bushels per hand, there will be no manner of difficulty in 
raising all the stock, hogs, mules and cattle, that are needed 
on the plantation. It has been objected to this system, 
that in the extent of pasturage afforded, prairie and clay land 
would become too much trod by the stock, causing such land 
to run together and break up clody. I am confident the ob- 
jection is unfounded, as the great object of the system is to 
accumulate on the land the largest possible amount of vege- 
table matter, which, while it keeps the land loose and friable, 
contributes so largely to the luxuriant and healthy growth 
of cotton. These objections, that fail to stand the theory 
and science of agriculture, fall to the ground as impotent and 
futile, when we examine the same system (in principle) in 
successful practice in the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, 
&c., on calcareous clay lands, raising by pasturage, &c., not 
only mules, horses, hogs, and cattle for home consumption, 
but^r all our cotton 'planters. There is an incompatability 
here certainly. The only precaution necessary, is to prevent 
stock running on the land while wet with rain water standing 
on it. 

There is nothing more easy than to account for this false 
alarm among cotton planters. See the sedulous care, if you 
please, with which they have drained the vegetable strata of 
their fields, for the last forty years ; each row is a perfect 
drain, not of water alone, but of vegetable mold, the life's 



80 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

blood of the land ; tlie cotton and corn stalks generally burn- 
ed ; thus denuded and leaclied, it is not surprising that the 
hoof of a hungry cow should poison it ! 

It is further objected, by those otherwise approving the 
system, that it will not make cotton enough ; that it does not 
lot sufficient land to secure every year a full crop of cotton. 
To this objection we simply oppose at first this fact. No man 
in this country, on the same quality of land, has realized from 
1844 to 1853 inclusive, to the same proportion of hands, what 
I have, notwithstanding I have been experimenting all the 
time. If I have not made as many bales of cotton, which is 
improbable, I have raised that which cotton had to supply 
necessarily. This is obvious in the substantial improvements 
on the land, and its increased value, at least five hundred per 
cent. ; not that I could simply sell it for that much over and 
above its cost twelve years ago-, but it is its absolute annual 
production. Nor does it possess any artificial advantages of 
railroad or city value, as land in sight of it of the same qual- 
ity, and just as valuable in 1843, under the " kill and cripple 
policy" of the country, sold last year at less than $6.25 per 
acre. 

DR. CLOUD. 



SECTION V. — SYSTEM AND ROTATION IN COTTON CULTURE — 
CONTINUED. 

Gov. Broome : — In the Nov. number of this Journal, fAm. 
Cotton Planter, J I did not conclude all that I had to say under 
this head. I detailed there the " System of Rotation and Shift 
of Crops" that I pursue here, and in which I have the fullest 
confidence. The object of this article is to show that some 
such article as this, producing the same results is essential to 



SYSTEM AND EOTATION. 81 

the renovation of our already exhausted fields — to retain and 
improve the productive quality of our new lands, and to 
secure at the same time the raising at home of sufficient pro- 
visions with plantation teams, enabling us entirely within our- 
selves to carry forward the prosperous production of our cot- 
ton. In every other section of this country, north, east, and 
west, the proceeds of the productive industry of the people 
in the grand aggregate, are retained at home, while we, the 
planters of the south, producing annually, from a single one 
of our crops, $150,000,000 ! pay out the grand aggregate to 
others for bread, bacon, and mules, all of which we may, un- 
der a proper system of plantation economy grow at home, and 
thus we may retain at home also this large sura of gold, the 
substance of our fields, to be expended in home improve- 
ments. 

It is an entirely fallacious political economy that supposes 
for a moment, that we are to make so much cotton annually; 
at the sacrifice of our personal and national interests ; and it 
is as equally fallacious to argue, as many do, that it is our 
true policy to buy bread, bacon, and mules of others — though 
we may be able to raise them — that they may be induced to 
buy our cotton. There are other arguments for this ruinous 
policy too frivolous with which to detain you. 

Now I insist upon it boldly, that this whole barter policy is 
totally at fault. It is one of dependence and slavishness. 
With a climate and soil peculiarly adapted to the production 
of cotton, our country is also equally favorable to the produc- 
tion of all the necessary cereals, and as remarkably favorable 
to the perfect development of the animal economy, in fine 
horses, fine active mules, good milch cattle, superior sheep, 
and fat hogs, and for fruit of every variety (not tropical) it is 
eminently superior. If this condition of things be fact, and I 
assert it to be such, why is it that we find so many loedlthy 



82 

cotton planters, whose riclies consist entirely of their slaves 
and worn out plantations ? I desire to show, and I shall 
prove it in practice, that a judiciously arranged system of 
plantation economy will secure upon the plantation sufficient 
grain, bacon, and mules to supply its wants : and a cotton 
crop, unincumbered by these absolute necessaries, that realize 
a handsome dividend upon the capital and labor of 'the planter. 
In this cycle of rotation and shift of crops that I practice, 
there is afforded, in the first place, every necessary means of 
improving the fertility of the land. Another striking feature 
about it, and not the least recommendatory of it, is the 
amount of rich pasturage that it affords for stock. I regard 
this as among its highest recommendations. Stock cannot be 
raised successfully or advantageously without pasturage, in 
addition to well-filled cribs of grain. The quantity of land 
appropriated under this arrangement to corn, secures a suf- 
ficiency of that grain for all needful purposes. This crop 
should always be laid by earl}^, and peas, the common cow- 
pea, or some of its varieties, sowed broad-cast over the land 
and ploughed or harrowed in, which adds very materially to 
the value of the pasturage, as well as improves the condition 
of the land. It is argued by planters generally that grazing 
land injures it more than the stock are benefited by the pas- 
turage. The argument is too often illegitimate ! The land is 
first ruined by the one-crop practice of cotton, &c., till the 
vegetable mold and inorganic salts of the surface and 
ploughed soil are exhausted, it is then turned out to pasture. 
It soon runs together, of course, produces little grass, and sus- 
tains poor stock. The difficulty is not so much in the injury, 
which the hungry stock did in grazing the pasture, as the 
ruinous system of culture tliat prevented any pasture at all. 
Land under an improving system of culture is not thus 
affected. Rich land upon which water is not permitted to 



SYSTEM AND ROTATION. 83 

run, whether naturally rich or made so by art, furnishes a 
wilderness of grazing, when turned to pasturage, which not 
only greatly improves the condition of the stock, but retains 
a sufficiency of refuse vegetable matter, which, after the 
plough, keeps up the loose and friable condition of the land. 
It is in this view of the subject, that we see this self-sustaining 
system of plantation economy. Under this system, or any one 
like it, furnishing the amount and value of pasturage that it 
does, the raising and keeping of stock, mules, hogs, and cattle, 
necessary to supply the wants of the plantation, become a 
source of absolute profit — the land is made rich, and continues 
improving in the production of the elements of fertility — the 
compost manure is made valuable, because it is trod up and 
mixed w4th the excrements of stock kept fat on rich pastur- 
age. This rich compost manure, applied to the land once 
every four years, in quantities sufficient to make a bale of 
cotton per acre, continues to improve the land and thus in- 
crease annually the grain crops and pasturage. All this is 
simple, plain, and practical. 

It is objected to this country by planters and others taking 
their cue from them on account of its " short bite" and sterils 
pasturage, as they are pleased to call it. Nor has there been 
a designed misrepresentation in this : it is the result of ob- 
servation derived from the working of this universally drain- 
ing system of growing cotton. Now the facts which mj prac- 
tice and observation under this system have demonstrated, 
are these : that no country is equal to this for good and 
*' long-nip'' pasturage ! Our climate is remarkably favorable 
to rich and luxuriant pasturage. The red man of the forest 
and the pioneer white man, that came here in advance of our 
*' scratching ploughs," tell us they found the wild oat and na- 
tive grasses waving thick, as high as a man's head, and so en- 
twined with the wild pea vine, as to make it difficult to ride 



84 COTTON planter's manual. 

among it, all over tliis country. Every cotton planter has 
heard of these fine primitive pasture ranges, and many have 
seen them. If the country or the climate has been cursed in 
our appearance as planters here, it has been in the wasting 
system that we introduced and continue to practice. There 
is no grass, for hay or pasturage, superior to our crab grass, a 
native to the "manor born." Up by the 1st of April* and 
continues green and growing (when properly managed) 
throughout the summer and fall till frost. The land once set 
with it never requires seeding again. Our crow foot is also 
a most invaluable late summer and fall grass. The short and 
extreme mildness of our winters, with the various evergreen 
or winter grasses, in connection with red clover, rye and 
barley for winter and early spring grazing, enable us to keep 
stock through the winter cheaper than farmers can in higher 
latitudes. 

Under a system affording such facilities for grain in abun- 
dance, rich and extensive pasturage with fat home-raised 
stock of every variety and land improving annually in fer- 
tility, the calture of cotton becomes a process of gardening, 
productive and remunerating. The land may always be 
wrought to the best advantage, without injury at any time to 
either crop or soil. 

Again : cotton thus treated matures earlier, feeds and 
fruits more rapidly, being strong and healthy, and less affected 
by insects, lice, rust, or the worm. Of course, then, it opens 
earher and may be gathered to better advantage and in bet- 
ter order. It also affords a greater degree of certainty for a 
fair crop, both to the land and hand. This is the result of 
causes, both legitimate and philosophical ; first, the land is 
provided with the food in proper form and quantity, which 
the cotton plant requires to bring it early to maturity ; again, 
there is time and opportunity afforded to prepare the land for 



COMPOST MANURES, ETC. 85 

tlie reception of the seed, and the mode of seeding also secures 
a stand, perfect, regular, and uniform throughout ; by perfect 
I mean the mathematical arrangement by which the hills or 
stalks of cotton are so placed on the land as to feed equally, 
grow uniformly, and at maturity, fill up the land completely. 
In the January number of this Journal, we shall treat 
fully of the preparation and application of plantation compost 
manure, with some remarks perhaps on the application of 
guano and its value as a fertilizer in southern agriculture, the 
result of some twelve years' experience. 

DR. CLOUD; 



SECTION VI. — COMPOST MANURES ; STOCK-YARDS, ETC. 

Gov. Broome : — The preparation of stock-yard compost 
manure, and its proper application to the soil, as a fertilizer, in 
the production of our important crops, cotton and grain — with 
some remarks on the value of guano to the Southern planter, 
will claim our attention at this time. This species of fertilizer, 
the most common, and cheapest to the planter, is valuable in 
proportion to the care and attention exercised by the proprie- 
tor in its preparation. This fact I have clearly shown in a 
previous article. I have given this subject much careful atten- 
tion, and I am thoroughly convinced that too much importance 
cannot be attached to it, as an integral item in our plantation 
economy. Compost manuring, in connection with stock raising 
and pasturage, is the true renovator of all agricultural exhaus- 
tion. Stock are the inseparable companions of agriculture. 
AH the team service of the plantation they perform. They 
also furnish quite a considerable proportion of the food con- 
sumed by the family and operatives of the plantation. In the 
performance of all this important service, they must consume, 



86 COTTOX planter's manual. 

on tlieii' part, a very considerable proportion of the produce of 
the plantation. In this consumption, however, of hay, fodder 
and grain, under proper management there is nothing really 
destroyed or lost to the plantation. It is at this point the 
great difficulty is encountered by planters, in the preparation 
of compost manures. When the range is relied on for stock 
raising and feeding, as is almost universally the case in the 
planting States, the penning and shelter of stock every night 
is attended with a great deal of trouble, and the food consumed 
— after the first month or so in the early spring — is of such a 
character, and procured at such toil on the part of the stock, 
as merely to sustain animal life, and their excrements, of 
course, almost valueless as a fertilizer — at least comparatively 
so. This fact, connected Avith the rude and careless means 
usually adopted on plantations for composting and saving ma- 
nure, furnishes the criteria upon which the opinion of the 
planting public is based, as to the value of compost manures, 
and the importance of its preparation in the plantation economy 
of the country. 

In an article published in the November number of this 
journal, extracted from a premium Essay prepared for the 
** Maryland Agricultural Society," the position is taken that 
compost manures are not worth the hauling. This is the result 
of experience in Virginia. This opinion is very common all 
over the country, and it is the effect of that state of things 
which we have detailed above. My experience for the last 
twelve years, has led me to a very different conclusion. An 
alysis shows that the dung of animals — the horse, cow and 
hog — well kept, abounds in the very same fertilizing elements 
that make guano so valuable. If, then, the proper treatment 
of stock on the plantation fit them for the greatest value as 
teamsters, milkers and porkers, and in that condition their ex- 
crements produce tlie most valuable fertilizer, how important 



COMPOST MANURES, ETC. 87 

is it, in an agricultural point of view, tliat tlie fact be distinctly- 
understood and acted on by tlie planters of the country. My 
experience fully sustains this position. In a previous article 
I have shown that this system of rotation and shift of crops 
furnish the necessary means, in rich pasturage and abundance 
of grain, to keep the stock of the plantation in proper condition. 
In this condition of the stock of the plantation, I may answer 
another one of your inquiries, as to the number of stock that 
may be thus kept to the hand. This answer is properly in 
place here, previous to entering upon the details of preparing 
compost manure. Twenty head of cattle to five hands, will 
answer all the wants of the plantation. The number of hogs 
is to be measured by the bacon necessary to do the place. 
Plough teams, one for every two hands, and sheep enough to 
clothe the negroes. Of course, on large plantations the exact 
number cannot perhaps be preserved, but about this proportion 
will be found to answer every needful purpose. Now then, on 
a plantation thus arranged and stocked, as mine is, I shall 
proceed to give in detail the plan of operations which I pursue, 
by which I am enabled to make 2,500 bushels of good rich 
compost manure per hand every year, and the only proper 
mode of applying it to the land. 

In the first place, the farmer's golden rule is emphatically 
applicable here, and, I may add, entirely essential to success — 
•* a place for every thing, and every thing in its place." Each 
kind of stock must be provided with lots and shelter, and they 
must be induced or driven into their quarters every night dur- 
ing the entire year. These lots, stables and shelters, are to be 
constantly and regularly kept well littered with vegetable 
matter, which being broken and tread up by the stock walking 
and trampling over it, forms a most valuable absorbent for pre- 
serving the fluid portions of the excrements. For gathering 
pine straw, oak leaves, and other decaying vegetable matter 



88 COTTON planter's manual. 

from the forest, I have seen various plans recommended, such 
as detailing such hand or hands and cart, for every five or ten 
hands on the place, &;c. But I have found no plan to answer 
so well in practice as this : I have prepared for each hand a 
good, substantial and handj iron-toothed rake ; during wet, 
rainy weather, all hands with these rakes gather rapidly large 
quantities of vegetable matter, which is as readily hauled into 
the lots on large frames made for the purpose. This is a gene- 
ral rule, and rigidly persevered in during all the year, except 
in winter after the crop is gathered, when I have it hauled 
into the lots as it may be needed, as we are not then so par- 
ticularly engaged in the plantation. In the spring and sum- 
mer, after every fall of rain, all hands are engaged in raking 
up and hauling litter into the stock lots. Under this arrange- 
ment, a day after the fall of a wetting rain can be more valua- 
bly employed by the hands of the plantation in collecting 
materials for preparing manure, than by ploughing or hoeing 
the wet soil. Every planter knows well the injury done to the 
land by working on it while wet. The crop is not benefited 
by work done at such time, nor is the grass or weeds so likely 
to be subdued. But the time may be most valuably employed 
in preparing the materials for composition manure, and when 
the land is in proper condition for work, the cultivation of the 
crop is resumed under the most favorable circumstances. The 
great point gained is this : the large amount of rich, product- 
ive manure, which being applied to the land, under judicious 
culture secures the production of the desired crops on one-third 
the surface required on the same land to grow it without the 
manure. After the preparation and planting, manured land 
being just as easy to cultivate as that unmanured, the time for 
preparing manure while the land is wet after a recent fall of 
rain, is most profitably employed. All decajdng vegetable 
matter about the plantation, such as weeds, grass, &c., that 



COMPOST MANURES, ETC. 89 

grow and collect in the fence jams, in low wet places, in tlie 
ditches, &c., should be carefully raked up, and at a convenient 
time hauled into the stock lots. Muck, also, where it may 
exist in ponds and branches within or contiguous to the plan- 
tation, should be hauled up in the summer while dry and light, 
as nothing contributes more valuably to the compost heap, nor 
is any absorbent perhaps more retentive of the valuable fluid 
portions of fat animal excrements. This is the process by 
which I am enabled to prepare the large quantities of rich, va- 
luable compost manure per hand, which I apply to my land 
annually. 

There is another important item in the preparation of ma- 
nure, which should be mentioned here. It is the construction 
of the stock lots. This should be done in such manner as to 
prevent any water from running into them, that does not faU 
immediately on them, nor should any water be allowed to es- 
cape from them. Moisture is a component part of compost 
manure. Too much water, however, adds more to the expense 
of carriage than to value in fertility. This teaches the econ- 
omy of housing and sheltering the compost heap, that we may 
be spared the expense of hauling to the field so much water, 
quite as heavy as the manure itself, and of no value. Of 
course, every planter engaging in the preparation and saving 
of compost manure, will consult the conveniences of locality, 
&c., of his plantation, in the construction of his stock houses 
and lots, and other 'arrangements for the business. 

I shall now give you my mode of applying the manure to 
the land. Of course I esteem it the proper mode. As I have 
stated elsewhere, my land, though but little undulating, is all 
laid off in rows, as nearly level as instrumental operations can 
accomplish. The manure is hauled out on the land in carts, 
in tumbling bodies, graduated to hold an exact number of 
bushels. In the commencement, a row is selected, fifteen feet 



90 



COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL. 



from the fence or beginning. This is the heap row. Fifteen 
feet from the end of this row, the first heap, or half the load 
is deposited; it is raked out by removing the hind gate of the 
body. Thirty feet from this, on the same row, the second 
heap is made by tumbling the body, when all the manure 
slips out, and the further trouble of unloading is saved. The 
following simple diagram, of a single acre, shows the simplicity 
and perfection of this mode of operation at a moment's view. 
Any overseer can understand it in a minute's time, and a ne- 
gro of ordinary intelligence is enabled to do the work, without 
any difficulty or inconvenience. 



# 


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Explanation. — The stars represent the heaps of manure, 
each containing ten bushels, placed in the centre of squares 
of 900 square superficial feet — giving forty-nine to each acre. 

Thus it is seen with what perfect regularity and uniformity 



COMPOST MANURES, GUANO. ETC. 91 

the manure is hauled on the land. This done, we proceed to 
spread it out over the land, by first running off the rows with 
a scooter-plough in the old water furrow, which is yet per- 
fectly visible, though the land lay last year in fallow — then two 
hands are put to each heap row of manure, with good shovels 
(Ames' long handles are best), and they scatter each heap 
for fifteen feet on all sides, which gives ten bushels of good 
manure to the surface of 900 square feet. All this is plain, 
simple, efficacious and practical ; thus the broadcasting con- 
tinues, until one suit of rows is done, when the ploughs com- 
mence, by first running around these rows with a scooter good 
and deep, and the balance is broken and bedded out with good 
turning-ploughs, by running four times in each row, thus di- 
viding the soil equally, and throwing up each row uniformly. 
You thus see that the manure is incorporated equally and uni- 
formly throughout all the soil. Whatever may be the opinion 
of casuists to the contrary, this is the true economy in the ap- 
plication of compost manures. I have given you, in this de- 
tail, the plan of operations that I pursue, in the preparation 
and application to the soil of compost manure ; I shall, there- 
fore, close this article with a few brief remarks upon the ap- 
plication and value of guano. 

Ten to twelve years ago, guano, as a fertilizer, was com- 
paratively unknown to the planters of the South. At the 
present time, however, the readers of the Cotton Planter are 
well " posted up" on the subject of its history and constituent 
elements, as a fertilizer. My attention was first directed to 
it in 1842, by an article from the pen of Prof. Liebig, prepared 
for the British Association of Agriculture. I was confident, 
after examining his analysis of guano, that it contained the 
true elements for the food of the cereals, and for the cotton 
plant, out of which to jperfect the seed. I had it introduced 
into Alabama immediately, for experiment on cotton, the re- 



92 COTTON planter's manual. 

suit of wliicli experiment proved that I was not mistaken. 
The great secret of manuring cotton, like wheat, consists in 
making seed — the true object of the cotton planter should be, 
to make good, full and perfectly-matured cotton seed, as they 
(the seed), produce the cotton wool. On this interesting sub- 
ject, we shall have more to say hereafter. Guano is a truly 
valuable fertilizer for grain and cotton, but to possess and use 
this valuable agency, we have to pay out a high price in gold, 
already made from our farms. It is a foreigner, and the cost 
of using it high. It can be used to great profit. Ten dollars 
worth of it, or 300 lbs. per acre, properly applied to land 
that will produce 500 to 1,000 lbs. of cotton per acre, will 
increase the crop from 1,500 to 2,500 lbs., due allowance 
being made for the casualties and vicissitudes affecting the 
cotton plant, as guano is no specific against any of the ills, but 
the lice and sore shin. Compost manure, prepared and applied 
as I do, and have herein described, produces the same results. 
The use of guano, then, becomes a question of policy alto- 
gether — just the same as whether it be the better policy of the 
cotton planter to purchase his bacon, for his operatives, from 
the West, or to raise it at home. Both are equally good when 
gotten into the meat house. 

I have thoroughly tested guano, for the last ten or twelve 
years, on every variety of crops that we cultivate at the 
South. Its analysis sustains this position, had we no experi- 
ence in its use. The best mode of application that I have 
found for using it is, first, to pulverize it, then add to it gyp- 
sum (sulphate of lime), in the proportion of one lb. gyp- 
sum to two lbs. of guano. For small grain, 200 lbs. of 
such compost, harrowed in with the grain, after thoroughly 
ploughing the land, produces a good crop. A heavier appli- 
cation will greatly improve the crop. For corn, 250 to 300 
lbs., drilled along in the row, and then two furrows listed 



COMPOST MANURES, GUANO, ETC. 93 

on it, and when you get ready to plant, open the ridge with a 
scooter and drop the corn, and cover as you desire. Thirty 
to forty bushels will be the produce, per acre, on land that, 
without the guano, might produce ten to fifteen bushels. For 
cotton, I have found it best to apply it in this way : first run 
off the rows, and then ridge with two scooter-furrows, by run- 
ning round the row ; upon this ridge scatter 300 to 400 lbs. 
of the compound, guano and gypsum, and then bed out the 
rows with turn-ploughs ; then, when ready, plant your seed. 
Much of the success of using guano depends upon applying it 
early in the season, that it may become incorporated with the 
soil previous to the growing season. It may be applied, 
equally successful, without the gypsum — the gypsum, how- 
ever, being cheap, can be used to advantage with it, as its ap- 
plication is, perhaps, always valuable. 

DR. CLOUD. 



CHAP TER III. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF COTTON— ITf^ SPECIES AND 
VARIETIES. 



SECTION I. — THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF COTTON. 

In dividing the genus Gossypium into species, we would 
follow Dr. F. B. Hamilton, (Linn. Trans, v, 8,) who says that 
the pubescence of the seeds is a better criterion than either 
the number and forms of the lobes of the leaf, or the number 
of glands for distinguishing the varieties. M. Rohn divides 
the cotton plants with which he was acquainted — 

1. Into those with seeds black and rough. 

2. Those with seeds brownish-black and veined, 

3. Those with seeds sprinkled with short hairs. 

4. Those Avith seeds completely covered with a close down. 
According to Dr. E-oyle, who has been long engaged in the 

investigation of the subject in Great Britain and in India, the 
different varieties of the cotton may be classed under four 
distinct species, in the following manner : 

1. Gossypmm indicum, or lierhacemn — the cotton plant of 
China, India, Arabia, Persia, Asia Minor, and some parts of 
Africa. 

2. Gossypium arboreuin — a tree-cotton indigenous to India. 

3. Gossypium harbadcnse — the Mexican or West Indian 

[94] 



YARIETIES. 95 

cotton ; of which the Sea Island, New Orleans and Upland 
Georgia are varieties. It was long since introduced into the 
island of Bourbon, and thence into India ; hence it acquired 
the name of Bourbon cotton. 

4. Gossypium Feruvianujti, or accuminatum — which yields 
the Pernambuco, Peruvian, Maranham, and Brazilian cotton ; 
especially distinguished by its black seeds, which adhere firmly 
together. This variety has long since been introduced into 
India. 

The chief varieties cultivated in the United States, are the 
black seed or Sea Island, (G^. arhoreurn,) known also by the 
name of "long staple," from its fine, white, silky appearance 
and long fibres; the green seed, [G. herbaceum,) called the 
" short staple," from its shorter white staple, with green seeds, 
and commercially known by the name of Upland cotton ; and 
two kinds of Nankin or Yellow, {G. barhadense,) the Mexi- 
can and Petit Gulf.— (P^^-. Off. Rep. for '53, Ag. Dep. 179.) 



SECTION II. — THE COTTON PLANT — " SEA ISLAND" COTTON. 

From the Southern Cultivator. 

There are various statements in regard to the number of 
species of the cotton plant. Some authors assert that there 
are not more than eight, while others affirm that there are 
upwards of a hundred ; and indeed that there is no end to 
them. It is not at all likely that anything certain is known 
about the matter, botanists never having taken the trouble to 
cultivate a great variety of them in order to ascertain the 
difference between the several kinds. We believe, however, 
that attempts have been made to do this to some extent in 
Jamaica, Trinidar] and St. Vincent's, where the various plants 



96 COTTON planter's manual. 

of the numerous regions where the cotton shrub is found, 
have been grown side by side in private gardens, on planta- 
tions, and in botanical collections. Of these, the garden in 
Trinidad alone remains, and we are not aware that any great 
advantage has been derived from that. This much, however, 
we know, that the several species differ materially in appear- 
ance, varying from four or five, to fifteen or sixteen feet high. 

There is no doubt that the plant was well known in ancient 
times ; but at what period it was introduced into America, we 
are not precisely informed. The Sea Island cotton is the 
produce of a plant that seems to have been first carried to the 
Bahamas from the island of Ancjuilla, (whither it is believed 
to have been transported from Persia,) and was sent to Geor- 
gia in 1786. But there is evidence of the existence of the 
cotton plant in America long before there was any direct com- 
munication between the civilized world and the two great 
portions of this continent ; and it is a well-authenticated fact 
that the Spaniards found cotton cloth, or calico, a common 
article of dress among the inhabitants of Mexico, upon their 
first invasion of that country. Calico obtained its name from 
Calicat — an insignificant town in India, where it was probably 
first made. It was an article too expensive to be purchased 
by the laboring classes, on its first introduction into England ; 
and it was little imagined, in the early days of its manufac- 
ture, how wonderfully it was destined to alter the whole face 
of commerce and society, and become the great staple com- 
modity of the western hemisphere. 

In China, it does not appear to have been employed to con- 
stitute articles of dress before the thirteenth century. In 
Spain, it is beheved that the Moors employed the filaments 
of cotton for weaving cloth in the tenth century ; but the 
quarrels between the Mohammedans and the Christians kept 
the rest of Europe in ignorance of its manufacture for many 



i 



VARIETIES. 97 

ages. Italy was the first to adopt it, and when the genius of 
Arkwright, Hargreaves and Qartwright had invented the 
proper machinery, England turned her attention to it in 
earnest, and gave an impetus to the growth and manufacture 
of cotton, which has since been constantly on the increase. 

The cotton used for manufacturing purposes is distinguished 
by the length and shortness, the silkiness and coarseness, and 
the strength and weakness of its several filaments. Some 
species of the plant thrive best where they can have the ben- 
efit of the sea air, and the produce is fine in proportion to 
their nearness or distance from the coast. Others, again, 
require the interior of the country. In dry climates, as on the 
mountain-bound shores of Brazil, the best plants are met with 
on the coast ; while in damp climates, like that of Pernam- 
buco, the most valuable cotton is obtained from the interior. 

But, whether seen bordering the lofty acclivities of the 
Andes, with the wide Pacific heaving its boundless waves to 
a limitless horizon, beneath a sky of more than Italian azure, 
or met with in the broad, rich valleys and on the sunny up- 
lands of our own beloved country, a field of cotton in full 
bloom, with its dark green leaves and snowy pods, (with here 
and there a magnificent magnolia or a noble pine, rearing its 
lofty head into the air), is a beautiful sight, more especially in 
the " picking season," when hosts of busy hands are gathering 
the valuable produce, and preparing it to enrich and comfort 
the inhabitants of our own and far distant lands. 

The finest and best kind, is grown on the low sandy islands 
off the coasts of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. It is 
sometimes called " Hack seed cotton," from the seed contained 
in the pods being black ; while the seeds of the staple cotton 
is called the " green seed cotton," for a similar reason. The 
*' staple," or filament of Sea Island cotton is exceedingly long, 
silken and delicate ; and it commands a high price in market — 
5 



98 COTTON planter's manual. 

more than double that of the short staple. Great improve- 
ments have been made in the latter by assiduous and careful 
cultivators, by the selection of seed ; and its culture on fair 
lands not exhausted by a ruinous system of tillage, is believed 
to be far more profitable than the culture of Sea Island, owing 
to its superior yield and the facility with which i^ may be 
ginned and prepared for market. D. E. 



SECTION III. — COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : — I am fully aware that many of my agricul- 
tural brethren will think I am actuated by sordid motives, 
while others will think I am fostering what is truly humbug- 
gery, — sales of cotton seed or anything else at exorbitant rates. 
Should we all be so fearful of censure, as to advance nothing 
but what is received as known by the vast body of agricul- 
turists, we would always travel in a circle. I will, therefore, 
venture to give my opinions on the subject of cotton seed. 

To be able to produce for sale two millions of bales, we 
must cultivate full 2,500,000 acres to cotton. Suppose we 
could, by dint of improved seed, increase the per acre yield, 
or the per hundred turn-out of lint only a few cents per acre, 
the gain would be immense. But suppose we could increase 
every one-hundred acre planter's yield 100 lbs. of cotton per 
acre, we would add to his income a clear gain of $100 to $200. 
Is this possible 1 I answer, afte rtrying to improve seed for 
about fifteen years, that I believe we can. 

Improved cotton seed attracted public attention in this 
country, near on to thirty years ago ; and I well bear in mind 
when Hollingshed cotton seed sold in Carolina. They were 
nothing else but Mexican seeds ; and nearly all the improved 



COTTON SEED. 99 

seeds are of that kind. Why planters will hesitate to use the 
improved seeds, when they use improved cattle, horses, hogs, 
sheep, poultry, fruit, &c., &c., is more than I can understand. 
Will any one hesitate to admit that there is a vast gain by 
planting one kind of corn over another ? Yet the improve- 
ment in cotton seed is fully equal. That humbugging has 
been practised in cotton seed, as well as in sheep, mortis mul- 
ticaulis, hogs, &c., I know^, and yet I believe good has been 
done. Large prices induce attention to be directed to the pro- 
duction of choice seed. Many persons rate cotton seed, as 
manure, and as food, to be worth sixteen cents per bushel. I 
have known ninety-eight bushels of corn grown with, say 250 
bushels of cotton seed, there being fall one-half the value left 
in the soil, where not over fifty could, or ever did grow with- 
out the seed ; this is rating cotton seed at twenty cents or 
more. Who would go to the trouble of making seed for sale 
at a profit over this of a feAv cents when thereby he is in- 
juring his land ? It may be said, all can improve ? Granted. 
But can all improve seed as cheap as they can buy. I do not 
believe they can, because the man ^vho can sell $500 or 
$1000 worth, can bear extra labor and expense. I know 
that extra labor and expense, of course, must be borne 
to make seeds that are the best to plant. If seeds are not 
thoroughly cured, they are injured by transportation, by 
being in a large pile. All of my seeds are sunned after gin- 
ning, and a hand does nothing else but attend to them. Even 
if a hand can stir up and attend to 500 bushels per day, there 
is scafi'olding, and house-room, and attention, and no man is 
willing to do this for nothing. A bushel will plant two acres 
of land. I have planted this year forty to sixty acres thus, 
and plant every year, more or less acres thus — even at $1 per 
bushel, the seed only costs fifty cents per acre, and if the 
gain be only ten pounds of cotton, the planter makes a great 



100 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

per cent., having the next year's seed to plant other acres, 
say, at least twenty acres for every original acre. 

The seed mostly relied on in Mississippi and Louisiana, are 
Mexican seed, known in Carolina and Georgia as Petit Gulf 
seed, because there planted and improved. In the hills 
around Rodney, Miss., the improvement began, and there 
are just as good seed at present elsewhere, as there is now 
near Eodney. We plant Sugar Loaf, or Prolific, Lewis' 
Prolific, Vicks' 100-seed, Guatemala, a seed not of Mexican 
origin. Brown seed, and others. Except the Guatemala, they 
are all, I believe, mere selections from the Mexican. 

I do not pretend to af&rm that any of these seeds will pro- 
duce, in quality or quantity, so much greater than seed usually 
cultivated in the interior of Mississippi, in Alabama, Georgia, 
or Carolina, as to warrant the planter in giving such rates as 
$3 or $5 per bushel ! The grower of the seed deserves a por- 
tion of the increased value, but the planter (purchaser), also 
deserves a fair portion, and the greater. I know from repeat- 
ed trials, that good seed will produce, say as six to seven, 
that is, an acre which would produce 600 lbs., with ordi- 
nary seed, has produced here 700 lbs. And I know of 
planters who will not buy seeds, yet wnll haul them twenty to 
thirty miles, if given to them, clearly showing their real 
opinion of the advantage derivable. I believe the yield is 
greater over common seed. I sincerely believe I have laid 
out 75 cents for a bushel of seed, and made more thereby than 
any other investment ; and I think by buying seed to plant, 
say one-fifth of one's crop yearly, that any planter will make 
thereby ; I mean where seeds are used for ten years or so, of 
any one kind, of the ordinary kinds. A planter who plants 
100 acres, may buy seed for twenty acres, say ten bushels, at 
$1 per year, and make a better investment than buying a 
negro fellow at S500. Some high-strung planters believe it 



1 



SUGAR LOAF COTTON. 101 

is a departure from ancient custom to sell seed ; so it may be, 
but if there is a real gain to the public, the man who adds to 
that gain, is a public benefactor, whether he is reported to be 
a regular planter, or a mere huckster of seed. I have given 
away more of these gains to the public than any high set 
planter in the South ; and as I make neither credit nor glory, 
nor cash, from such drones, I am very content to receive their 
obloq^uy. I may err, but it takes two people to be in error, 
ere I can inflict an evil ; and whilst I think my country can 
be a gainer by sales of seeds or chips, of anything, I will urge 
the matter, and only ask a trial. 

Edwards, Miss., April, 1848. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION lY. — SUGAR LOAF COTTON. 

Mr. Editor : — I beg to call the attention of the planting 
interest to the early maturity and the productiveness of the 
cotton called in Mississippi, Sugar Loaf and Prolific. I do 
so at this present time, that all may be able to obtain reliable 
facts, in season for the next planting. From my present 
knowledge, I do not hesitate to recommend it warmly for the 
above valuable considerations. I have planted it only in 
1847 and '48, and have no more personal experience than the 
yield of one crop, and the present prospect. I do not promise 
for it the great yield that the seller of the Mastodon seed did 
for that seed, nor the yield that was promised from the 
Turin and Okra cotton ; but I do say, that I believe it will 
pay the planter, even if his seeding costs him $1 per acre. 
More than this, I leave others to say. 

This day, being called into my field, south of my pasture, 
and some two hundred and fifty yards from another field in 
cultivation, where I have my selected Sugar Loaf seed planted, 



102 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

I was so forcibly struck with the p-rospect, that I conceive it 
my duty to draw attention thereto. I saw repeatedly limbs, 
with six, eight, ten and twelve bolls and forms, which were 
not that many inches long, I could span so as to touch ten 
without any exertion. I have forty acres planted to the 
Sugar Loaf seed, and think I reasonably calculate, from pres- 
ent appearance, on fifty bales, and I don't think any other 
forty acres of Petit Gulf seed, promises forty bales. My seed 
have been planted remote from others for these two years, they 
were selected from the field by myself and an old negro woman ; 
yet, I find a great tendency to run back, and which can only 
be guarded against by careful yearly selection. 

I have many friends who are planting it, and they pro- 
nounce two weeks earlier in maturity, a great gain when the 
army-worm is expected. 

The picking qualities. I can pick 200 lbs. per day, easier 
than from ordinary Mexican. (We term the improved cotton 
Mexican, which is known in Carolina and Georgia as Petit 
Gulf, because everybody who sells seed, marks his bags Petit 
Gulf, the first improved seed emanating from that section.) 
I can gather 150 lbs. This was the fact last fall. 

Those who are skeptical will consult their own interest by 
writing to friends in Mississippi, where the aeeds are well 
known. There are a great many here who are now planting 
the seed, and as they do not sell seed, and are too proud to 
advertise, no doubt but that their evidence will be good. 

The seeds I have, were presented to me by Mr. Farmer, 
living in Yallobusha County, I think. He was the first in 
this country to call attention to the seed some four years ago. 
They are no discovery of mine, nor have I improved them. I 
only claim calling your attention to what I believe will 
benefit you, sir. 

I believe the seed that Dr. Cloud plants to be no other than 



IMPROVED COTTON SEED. 103 

this same variet}' of the Mexican ; and if so, by carefully se- 
lecting and keeping as pure as possible, he will do as much 
good by selling them at $1 per bushel, as he has done by call- 
ing attention to manuring, and I believe he has done more 
good to many sections of the cotton-growing region, than all 
other Avriters together. It is necessary that one should be very 
zealous in a cause to get attention, and I hope all growlers 
will confine themselves to the growl, while we doctors, (hum- 
bugs, if one of the savans desire the name,) are allowed to 
keep in sight of facts, even if at a distance. 

I am sincerely a friend to the cause of improved agriculture. 

Edtcards, Miss., July, 1848. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION V. — IMPEOVED COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : — I have received and answered about twenty 
letters in relation to cotton seed ; and as those letters are en- 
tirely from your subscribers — and, by-the-by, the postage al- 
ways paid, too — I beg a corner in your right worthy paper, 
that I may save all trouble by those who desire cotton seed. 

I will add some remarks about the various improved seeds 
grown in this section, and make it my endeavor to fairly state 
my opinion of them. I beg, also, to say, that I will very 
cheerfully purchase any kind of seed desired by your subscri- 
bers, charging only what I give ; and should it be necessary 
to incur any expense in selecting, I will divide expenses be- 
tween the parties ordering. I mean by this not to force any 
one to take my seed, unless they are satisfied, and yet am 
anxious that all should have the benefit of improved seed. I 
will pledge my good pen, to show in this country as great an 
improvement in the quantity or in the quality, and in the pick- 



104 

ing qualities, as could be reasonably expected ; but, in some in- 
stances, the price of seed is too high. My personal friends have 
the seed for sale. I do not disparage the seed, but I deem one 
dollar per bushel, at the gin, to be a remunerating price, and 
at that any planter can afford to buy a few. I Avould advise 
no one to buy many until he has proved them. I have labored 
too long and too earnestly, to help my native South, to now 
risk all for the purpose of making a few dimes. I do not offer 
my seeds as being the best, nor as yielding two and three bales 
per acre. I only pronounce them as being very carefully 
sunned, both before and after ginning, and to be seed from the 
best I could procure. They yield well here ; I say not what 
they may do in Carolina or Georgia. I could name friends in 
both States who have planted my seed, and who write me 
very favorable accounts. I do not desire any puffing of my 
wares, lest I may be again blamed. And in this matter I 
claim to be useful, in offering an article that is needed, and, 
if I am not in error, an article that will benefit the purchaser 
more than the seller. 

I charge, in all instances, to home folks or to strangers, as 
follows : Petit Gulf, or Mexican, generally known here as the 
latter, fifty cents ; Sugar Loaf, from seed carefully selected 
under my own eye, $1 ; Vick's 100-seed, $1. 

When I send off, I put in five bushel sacks, made of Lowell 
goods, costing me twelve and a-half cents, the sacks to weigh 
125 lbs. or over, if I wish, and charge fifty cents per sack, for 
the sack and hauling to Edwards' depot. Col. Vick charges 
$2. I did not learn this until I hiad fixed my rates ; and I 
have too few to affect him, who kindly presented me with my 
start. 

The Petit Gulf seeds are only Mexican seed, acclimated and 
selected. When these seeds obtained their first celebrity, it 
was usual to select seeds from the pile, for their white color 



IMPROVED COTTON SEED. 105 

and small size. Latterly, we pay more attention to tlie pro- 
duction, quality of lint, and picking cjualities. 

To Col. Henry W. Vick is, therefore, due the credit of first, 
scientifically, with great personal labor, perseverance and skill, 
making the proper selection. We regard these as a very de- 
cided improvement, and his selling at $10, for two years, 
proves such to be the fact. I have planted them two years, 
and will plant one-half my next crop with them. 

The Sugar Loaf was introduced by Mr. W. B. Farmer, 
Last Chance, Miss., from whence I know not. Two years 
ago, he kindly gave me two bushels. I planted them on four 
acres — the product, early maturity and extraordinary picking 
qualities, pleased me so much that I took my most careful 
hand, and together we selected enough to plant near twenty 
acres. It is this seed I offer. There are many planters 
who put the gain at fifty, seventy-five, and even one hundred 
per cent. I do not promise that much. Having fairly tested 
it, I place it, say two to four cwt. more per acre on rich land, 
and enough to warrant a trial. 

The Brown seed is said, by its friends, to excel the Sugar 
Loaf in all its good qualities. It originated in Copiah County, 
I learn. 

The Tarver seed, from Alabama, is greatly praised there. 
These three latter seeds I planted side by side, and I will hold 
to the first ; and, as I have no prejudice to uphold, I presume 
I am correct in my judgment. How these latter sell I know 
not. I learn that Sugar Loaf sold at $1.50 last year, 

Hogan seeds were introduced into Mississippi by Mr. Wm. 
Hogan, who lives a few miles from me. I saw his field, of 
some fifteen acres, and was so well pleased that I purchased 
one bushel for myself, and two and a-half for my friends, at 
$10 per bushel of twenty-five lbs. As a special favor, I was 
allowed the seed cotton, selected from special stalks, and for 
5* 



106 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

the purpose of testing the yield of lint. September picking 
gave, viz. : 116 lbs. yielded thirty-six lbs. of lint, or a trifle 
over thirty-one per cent., the largest yield I ever found, and I 
have been thus testing all cotton for many years. His price 
is SIO. 

Banana cotton, introduced by my friend, Col. Hebrun, of 
Warren County. I saw his cotton and his book. I also saw 
a piece of the same, owned by Dr. E. Bryan, his neighbor. 
Two other gentlemen, with the above, Mr. Cook and Mr. Gib- 
son, being the only growers at present. Of these two last 
kinds I know the history, but am not at liberty to say more, 
than that the production exceeds anything I have ever seen. 
The Banana seeds are held at $100 per bushel, and no less 
than a peck can be sold by written agreement. 

Pitt's Prolific I never saw, but am told by its friends, that 
that seed will be planted, and a wager put up, that the pro- 
duct shall exceed any of the above. The price, and where to 
be obtained, I am ignorant of, but in another year I Avill have 
tested, and can report, 

I saw three acres of the Hogan seed at Judge Pearce No- 
land's, a large planter near me, and the planter who gave to 
the Petit Grulf its deserved notoriety. The Judge's account 
of what he picked, warrants me to say to any one who regards 
any improvement in cotton seed as a humbug, that he can be 
well paid for his year's labor and time, if he will send a few 
dimes out, and superintend the culture and picking; that is, 
if he is right. In other words, I think he can get a very snug 
crop for doing nothing, but to see there is no cheating him. 
But let me caution him, lest he may lose a crop ; for some of 
this seed will certainly produce two to five, or may be ten 
cwt. more per acre, side by side, than the best Mexican yet 
grown and not improved by selection — or than any other seed 
not here named. 



IMPROVED COTTON SEED. 107 

I hope tlie above may do some good, if no other but to in- 
cite your readers to a closer attention in improving their seed. 
My remarks are open for examination. I give, to the best of 
my ability, what I think is true ; and, as I have not $500 
worth of seed saved here for sale, and not $1000 for the two 
past years, I earnestly beg that the liberal of my profession — 
agriculture — will not attach to me any desire to humbug ; 
$1200 is too small a bait — and I hope, by giving satisfaction 
with these few seeds, to open a yearly mart for $500. There- 
fore, I would not kill or injure the goose — the rather I would 
feed her high — with good weights and sound seed. 

Excuse the great length, but, if I am right, the public ad- 
vantage will be a sufficient excuse for 

Edwards, Miss., Nov., 1848. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION VI. — IMPROVED COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : — Having already received inquiries concerning 
cotton seed, I beg again that you will favor me with inserting 
my reply. It will save your subscribers some writing, and 
myself a great deal. I have had mare or less to do with a 
printing-office for several years, and I have had advertisements 
slided on me as communications. I do not do this ; I send this 
forth as an advertisement. It will aid me greatly, and will 
aid your subscribers a little — probably as much as niyself. 

I will be prepared to fill orders to a limited extent, but will 
not reserve as much seed as I did last year, unless orders come 
in before Nov. 1. I will record orders as received. All seed 
sent from here shall be thoroughly sunned before and after 
ginning, and well cured before being put into bulk. My charge 



108 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

will be invariably $1 per bushel of 25 lbs., 10 cents per bushel 
for the sacks and hauling to depot. No seed will be reserved 
except from cotton picked in September and October. 

Now as to varieties : 

The Sugar Loaf Seed will be from the second year's selec- 
tion. Sugar Loaf is regarded, by every neighbor I have, as 
being the best seed yet planted by them. I have heard the 
opinion of a majority of them. With me they prove, on rich 
land, the very best. 

Vick's 100- Seed is generally acknowledged to be the best 
selection from the Mexican or Petit Gulf, ever planted in Mis- 
sissippi. Col. Yick sold his, the present year, at $1,50 per 
50 bushels, or over, and $2 for any quantity under. 

Brown's Seed is, in my opinion, identical with the Tarver 
Seed of Alabama, and very much like Sugar Loaf; bolls more 
pointed ; not so prolific or so easy to pick. 

Pitt's Prolific^ I have growing this year, for the first. For 
me it does not well, and does not seem to be established ; some 
stalks are good, some excellent, others so-so. 

Hoganh. — I have eight acres to itself, no other seed planted ; 
besides two other patches replanted with other seed. I shall 
only reserve from the first. I am not so highly pleased as last 
year, but there is great allowance to be made : I bad to replant 
twice, not cleaned out until May, and the land was in part too 
level — a good part of the land so level that cotton was almost 
drained out. 

Banana, from seeing and feeling, I pronounce identical to 
the above. 

Prout, the same, I might say, as I can show both kinds in 
same field. 

Chester, I might say as for Banana. 

Pomegranate, I believe to be identical ; never heard of it 
until I saw a notice from a Mobile paper, though Gen. Mitchell 



BANANA COTTON SEED. 109 

lives not far from me ; and never heard of it since, except 
through distant papers. 

For the information of some, Banana was not planted in 
Warren County, Miss., before 1848, and was then planted by- 
four gentlemen — Messrs. Hebrun, Bryant, Cook, and Gibson. 

Multiholus. — I have some 100 stalks, and some of them ex- 
ceed an^^thing I have seen. The introducer promises the yield 
of lint to be some forty per cent. It is good certainly thus far. 

Roh SmiWs 25-cents is very prolific indeed, with long tor- 
tuous limbs, leaves silky, bolls slim. I have but little. 

Mammoth — Also from my friend Smith : very large holls, 
and quite prolific. 

Any farther information will be cheerfully given. 

I advise early application, as I am determined to sell only 
the best, and not to reserve many. Orders must be accompa- 
nied with the cash, or some certain means. Payment first of 
January will be time enough, but it must be certain. 

To merchants ordering say 500 bushels, I will deliver at 
depot for $1, so that planters can buy at my price, and yet 
ten per cent, be realized, 

I shall plant nothing but selected seed ; thus planters may 
reasonably expect the purest seed, according to my judgment. 

With great respect, I am yours, &c., 
Edwards, Miss., August, 1849. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION VII. — BANANA COTTON SEED. 
From the Southern Cultivator. 

Mr. Editor : — My remarks as to the above variety of cotton 
seed, as published in the Cultivator for last November, have 
been deemed by some persons of my acquaintance, as having 



110 COTTON PLAxVTERS MANUAL. 

emanated from a desire to put dov/n other seed, that I might 
sell. To such, I have no reply. 

Duty to the growers of said seed, re(][uires of me to say 
what was the fact, and to place the error where due. Under- 
stand me. Col. John Hehrun and Mr. David Gibson, of War- 
ren County, Miss., are personally on the very best terms — 
they are the principal growers. There is no issue between 
us, as they know my motives and the facts. 

The Banana seed of October, 1848, I saw. I culled a few 
seeds, and planted in 1849. I pronounced them identical 
with Hogan, and they ivere. Mr. David Gibson had procured 
a variety of seed — not from Mississippi, Louisiana, or Ala- 
bama — and in his judgment they proved, planted side by side, 
to be superior to the then Banana ; and knowing the sale of the 
said seed would be ended with the one j^ear's growth, he re- 
fused to join in sales, but proposed to supply his new seed. 
Thus was a cotton which I never saw until ten days or so ago, 
sold as the Banana. Was I to blame? I did deem the offer- 
ing of a seed by a new name, for a large price, a wrong; and 
I deemed it my duty to expose. I did so, and will do it 
again. 

As to the present Banana, I saw the field from which forty- 
five bales were gathered. Mr. David Gibson is practically 
conversant with surveyor's implements, he is a correct man, 
he assures me there are thirty-eight and a-half acres, measured. 
The growth and appearance is very similar to the Hogan, 
and I doubt not, had the same primary parentage, but the 
Hogan was taken to Alabama, thence to Warren — the Banana, 
directly to the hills of Warren, eminently inducive to short 
joints, yield and quality of lint. Mr. Gibson will procure for 
me a daguerreotype of two branches I saw at his house, which 
will be sent to you to copy in your Journal. It will be done 
at my request, supposing it would be ornamental, and serve 



SILK COTTON. Ill 

to show how the cotton can grow. Letters written to David 
Gibson, will be attended to. I trust this act of justice will 
not be misunderstood, I am sure the seed will be an acqui- 
sition, and as to price, every man has the right to charge 
what he pleases — puschasers to pay, or not. 

Yours, with respect, 

Edwards, Miss., Jan. 1850. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION VIII. — SILK COTTON. 
From the Southern Cultivator. 

Mr. Editor : — Your last Number is mislaid by some one, 
though in the house. I therefore cannot refer to the page on 
which my friend, J. V. J., in alluding to the seed I sent him, 
gives me credit for more than I deserve. I beg to allude 
thereto. First — I object to the name Early Sugar Loaf. I 
detest multiplying names. I received the seed from Mr. 
Farmer, Hard Times, Miss., as a present. I have selected 
from the field for four years. Those I sent J. V. J. were of 
the third year's selection, and such seed as I never sell, ex- 
cept in very small parcels, and then to my favored few ; be- 
cause I cannot be paid for doing it, and I only select some ten 
or fifteen bushels yearly — with these I plant twenty to thirty 
acres — from those I select the ensuing year, and fiom no 
others. I still call mine Sugar Loaf, and sometimes Select 
Sugar Loaf. 

The Silk Cotton seed sent to J. V. J. was grown here, the 

second crop from seed sent me by my friend Ool. H. W. Vick, 

,of Vicksburg. It is not the Silk Cotton of the south-tvest. 

Let it be understood. J. V. J. has probably the only seed 



112 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

now ill existence. Col. Vick selected the seed from his 
100-seed, and from the Mexican, for several years. He 
projected with the seed, he said, resembling silk in feel, and 
quit, I think. I selected one year, and the second selected 
for J. V. J., and had so much to think of, I cast all ofiP. 
Therefore, Col. Vick has the credit, and I must not take it to 
myself Col, V. deserves more credit as an observing planter, 
than any man who has dabbled in experiments. He has 
been improving seed these fifteen years. And proof — he 
works fifty hands, or over, and made, the past year, as bad as 
it was, nine bales per hand ! Tell that to the B'hoys who 
think there is no virtue in improving seed. 

I have required J. V. J. to send me a bushel of the seed. 
This I will project with, and return him the progeny, even 
bettered ; for I assure you and all others, that, in Warren 
County, and a part of Hinds, we can improve any seed. Our 
climate and soil, and our attention, is something. 

I will suggest to all parties interested, that we name the 
seed, (as the cotton is, beyond doubt, distinct,) Jethro Seed — 
after Jethro, of the Cultivator, whose anonymous contribu- 
tions to that periodical are considered among its best. 

I ask it of friend J. V. J., and will send bim a letter of in- 
troduction to Jethro ; and, by-the-by, I hope there are many 
others who admire the writings of Jethro, and who miss him 
as much as does your friend. 

And, by-the-by, as I have returned to my duty, I would 
like to see my old companions-in-arms — my noble Coke, caustic 
Broomsedge, and others. Come, friends ! let us, one and all, 
give a whole-soul life to the Cultivator, this year. Our read- 
ers are many. They are our brothers, of " our own, our 
native land." We are aiding the readers and ourselves. I 
am the oldest man among yQ>, and I hope you will not leave 
the load to the " old man" — my nickname, when about twelve 



MULTIFLORA COTTON — "MONEY BUSH.'' 113 

years old, and followed me up. May our cause prosper — may 
our whole country live together a thousand years, and peace 
be with ye all ! Sincerely yours, 

March, 1850. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION IX. — MULTIFLORA COTTON — "MONEY BUSH." 

Mr. Editor : — The March number of your paper is just at 
hand, and I must needs thank you for the high estimate you 
place upon me. I can assure you, I will try to deserve your 
encomiums, and to meet the expectations of my brethren. 

This thing I say — and do not think there is one man from 
Maine to Texas will think I say falsely — I love my calling 
and the progress of my brethren too well, to designedly lead 
them astray. I have no unkind feeling for man or woman, 
that should lead me to molest or do injury ; nor have I any 
iealousy of other men of high standing, that I would wish to 
lower them that I might be seen. 

I am induced to make these remarks, because I will fear- 
lessly expose any subterfuge that may be resorted to in the 
way of humbugs or deceptions, I have learnt that some 
rather strong remarks are made against me in the January 
number, which I have not seen. I will see it as soon as I 
can procure a number, and will reply. I fear no one, for I 
am determined to be actuated by a higher motive than mere 
words, or making dimes. 

There is yet another seed called Multiflora, which, I am 
informed by one of the growers, Avas procured from Mr. Prout, 
of Alabama, and is, therefore, the same seed as the Hogan, 
Cluster, &c., &c. Why not say, openly and candidly, that 
the seeds are Hogan, or Prout, or Cluster, and then ask their 
$2|- or $5 per bushel ? — thereby, any man buying would un- 



114 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

derstand what tliey were getting. I have the word of a friend 
who planted Money Bush, that it was also the same cotton. 

I put the question to any man — how would you like to buy, 
at one, or two, or three, or five dollars per bushel, the same 
seed, from two or three gentlemen^ under different names, 
each one declaring their cotton to be " the best in the world ?" 
You would not like it, of course. Then act squarely to all 
men ; call your seed right, and ask any price you please. 

M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION X. — VARIETIES OF COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : — Last spring I received a lot, say about one 
hundred cotton seed, from Gr. W. Mabry, of Vernon, Mississippi, 
called Multiflora. I planted them myself, and gave them two 
workings. The product was so good that I saved all the seed. 
The growth I conceived similar in all respects to the Cluster 
or Hogan, &c., &c., yet the seed were all white. I learnt 
they were procured from Carroll. This season I saw a gen- 
tleman from thence, who had seed to sell. T inquired as to 
the history, and traced them through the same Carroll County 
source, to H. W. Prout, and have therefore pronounced them 
identical with the Cluster. My friend, Gr. W. M., says I am 
in error, as these seeds remain white, but the Cluster will in 
three or four years run into green. I state this, that all sides 
may have a hearing. I have received this season as a present : 

Royal Cluster, from R. W. Harris, Greensboro', Alabama. 

Golden Chaff, from G. W. Summerville, Hope, Alabama. 

Multiflora, from W. W. Whitehead, Middleton, JSliss. 

Seed, second year from Mexico, from Jas. E. Harrison, 
Aberdeen, Miss. 

Seed from Texas, I think, from " Hinds," Cayuga, Miss. 



VARIETIES OP COTTON SEED. 115 

Brown, from H. W. Griffith, Hinds County, Miss. 

Willow, from W. Montgomery, Hinds County, Miss. 

Selected Seed, from Col. Jno. L. Groom, Greensboro', Ala. 

Cotton Seed from China, from Patent Office, Washington 
City. 

Guinea Seed, from John A. Heard, Hinds County, Miss. 

Magnolia, from A. N. Mayer, HoUey Springs, Miss. 

These seeds are each generally highly recommended, and 
some of them are spoken of in such terms that I am induced 
to expect great things of them. I will thus, with others in 
field culture, have some twelve or fifteen varieties — at least 
with diff'erent names — and will be able to report in the fall, 
I have no idea that all my correspondents can be pleased 
with my report for it is impossible for me to suit each kind 
to land, unless my friends had given me hints to guide me in 
the selection of spots to suit each. But I hope they will bear 
in mind, that I can have no interest, other than in selecting 
the very best, and that no one locality will suit every variety. 
I will illustrate by an example : Some of my friends declare 
that Sugar Loaf will " double almost " any other variety, 
while others declare it is no account ; all agree in early ma- 
turity and ease of picking. The reason of these diff'erent 
true statements arises from the fact, that Sugar Loaf does best 
upon rich, fresh land, inclining to moisture, that is, green land ; 
whereas upon high and dry land, and old at that, the produc- 
tion is not good. 

J. E. H., asserts of his seed, that the production and yield 
of lint is greater than any I have tried ; he states figures ; he 
did not state quality of land ; I have planted them upon good 
upland, cleared twenty-two years ago, from which was taken 
a 500 lb. bale a few years since. I only anticipate to give 
relative yield, and by testing two or three years I can find 
out which land suits each kind. 



116 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

■ The adapting of seed to the soil that suits is no small mat- 
ter, and does not receive the attention it deserves. It is im- 
possible that any one man can experiment so as to arrive at 
just conclusions. He may take one, or two varieties, and 
test ; but to test the great many varieties that we now have 
requires too much time and trouble. If some of the agricul- 
tural societies would take the matter in hand, trouble would 
be divided, and just conclusions arrived at. I have bestowed 
considerable attention to these matters, and have interfered 
Mdth business matters to do so. I will continue to prosecute 
my experiments, deeming the encouragement I have received, 
from your subscribers especially, as claiming my time and at- 
tention. I would earnestly request of all persons who have 
new seed, to note particularly the product upon different soils, 
and give me their views this fall. Some one or two of my 
friends have complained of the 100-seed ; wh}^ this is so, I 
cannot understand— 100-seed is certainly the best variety of 
the Mexican, and is recommended as such. Col. Vick took 
the best Mexican — the little hum Mexican — and from that 
variety after several years' selection settled down upon the 
variety he named 100-seed. 

This variety, so far as I have experienced, is the best 
upon rich or poor land — compared with Mexican or Petit 
Gulf. Unless Brown seed excels 100-seed upon rich up- 
land, I would prefer that variety for that land, or even 
upon rich dry low ground. The Sugar Loaf will do better 
upon rich fresh land, but after a few years' culture the 
Vick seed will excel it. And this is Col. Vick's opinion, I 
think. 

Bear with my many words ; I merely intended to have 
thanked those friends who so kindly favored me with their 
select specimens, and have thus ran on. I beg they will ac- 
cept my thanks, as also all others who have sent me other 



SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED. 117 

articles upon trial. I will endeavor to give a just and true 
account of them. 

I have near about twenty varieties by name, and hope to 
be able to make an interesting report next winter. 

Since writing the above, some good fellow has sent me seed 
of a millet, entirely new to me. I have seen and grown sev- 
eral varieties, but the shape o^seed, resembling slightly wheat 
'when not grown, or injured, or perhaps rye when cut too 
early — the seed being longest and largest at one end. The 
seed came from Lauderdale, Mississippi, and the writer gave 
" Lauderdale" as his signature. This mode of signatures does 
in some countries ; for instance the Duke of Devonshire, 
might -sign his name Devonshire and be known. But, de 
gustibus non, I will not quarrel with any kind-hearted fellow 
who will thus make me a recipient of his favor. 

Truly yours, 

Edtoards, Miss., April, 1850. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION XI. — SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : — To-night I read your May number, in which 
I notice a call for the description of the Mississippi Scraper, or 
a drawing thereof. I also received a letter to-night, from a 
new friend in Alabama, on the same subject, 

I hasten now to say to you, that I will write to Yicksburg 
to-night, and endeavor to get a drawing. If I fail, I will send 
a scraper to Augusta, Georgia, with direction that a drawing 
be taken, and that the scraper be presented, in my name, to 
the contributor of the Cultivator, who is most punctual in sup- 
plying original matter for this paper. 

I have used the scraper for ten years, and believe I had 



118 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

the first one ever tried in Mississippi. I think I tried one in 
1838 or 1839, and continued trying to improve it, until Smith 
Taylor, a blacksmith of Jackson, Mississippi, beat me so bad, 
I had to take his. The suggestion was first made to my 
brother, in October or November, 1837, by a Mr. Tilgman, of 
Tennessee, who had to take log-cabin fare for a night. I 
deem it proper to say, that many planters here say they 
scrape with the turning-plough as well. I have tried both, 
and as one is as cheap as the other, and the scraper works 
best with me, I retain it. 

I am positively certain that upon land put in first-rate con- 
dition for scraping, that I can have eighteen acres scraped in 
six days, by one hand. I mean he can average three acres 
per day, for six da^^s. Of course the land must not be wet, 
and in the condition that we can have it nine years out of ten. 

Allow me, en passant, to say to Hinds, of Cayuga, Miss., 
that he is not many miles from me, and if he will come this 
way, that I will shoY\^ him one-fourth of my crop planted in 
Hogan seed. The Banana, Hogan, and Pitt — " identical !" 
" All in my eye and Betty Martin too !" The Pitt is as much 
unlike Hogan, as Sugar Loaf is unlike Mexican. They have 
not leaf, stalk, or boll alike. There has been too much specu- 
lation in seed ; but my dear fellow, let us be cautious lest we 
do injury otherwise. You have heard of the Montgomery on 
Fourteen Mile Creek — the elder brother, A. K. Montgomery, 
says his Hogan excelled, last year, Mexican, nearly two-fold. 
His father, an aged planter, plants it this year, after his ex- 
perience last year. Do you know H. W. Griffith, between 
Palestine and Utica ? He will assure you that he exceeded 
a bale per acre, last year, with the Brown s'eed. David Gib- 
son, of Warren, exceeded a bale per acre, of the Banana. And 
more I might name, but I suppose enough for the occasion. 

The Banana is a seed introduced by David Gibson, of War- 



SCRAPER AND COTTON SEED. 119 

ren County, Miss. I saw the correspondence, and assure 
Hinds that these seed are introduced from Georgia, yet I be- 
lieve they are of the same parentage as the Cluster, which is 
the original name, and from whence Wm. Hogan, of Warren, 
procured his seed. 

The Multiboll I never saw, and therefore cannot say aught 
for or against it. But the Sugar Loaf, upon rich fresh land, 
say big black, or Mississippi low grounds, will excel any 
other that has yet been tested by its side, and I know not a 
solitary person who denies it. 

As to those, whom Hinds charges with *' alv/ays collecting 
new corn and cotton seed," and they being the persons who 
fail in cotton crops. That may be so. There has to be one 
sheep in the flock to carry the bell, and provided the bell is 
useful, the other sheep should not complain. One who knows 
all this ought not to split upon the breakers. 

Hinds has done me the kindness to send me some seed, 
which I planted, and have only two or three stalks. They 
shall be nursed, though I do fail in a crop. I am fond of these 
sort of things, and as it is necessary that there should be some- 
body fool enough to waste his time, I might as well be that 
one, as I have no babies to feed. So Mr. Hinds, thou neigh- 
bor of mine, who blaze away Avith a scattering shot gun, 
under so large a name, e'en load up and fire again — no telling, 
you will hit somebody ; and it will keep up our blood in the 
long days now setting in. 

I would like to know yc ; you talk well about impositions. 
I will join you in some respects, but I prefer to be specific ; 
and I will not, if possible, commit a similar blunder, as any 
one who says Banana, and Hogan, and Pitt, are one and the 
same. The first two may be, but never the last. 

I have been buying seed for some fifteen to seventeen years. 
I have sold for two or three years, and I wish to sell again. 



120 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

I do try all sorts tliat are recommended to me, and some that 
I select myself. Now, Hinds, here is a customer, and an old 
one, who can stand much shooting at. 

With respect, yours, &c., 
May 24, 1850. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION XII. — THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COTTON SEED. 

Dr. Cloud : — Many ask me what is my opinion now of the 
different varieties of seed, and to save much writing, I ask of 
you the favor to he allowed to answer one and all. 

There are those who ridicule selling improved seed, but 
they will plant such if given ; others ridicule, to be thought 
of the prudent sort of folk. Every one to his notion. In 
1833, or about — for it was in '32 or '33 — there were those 
who ridiculed my trying to get up a better seed ; they were 
only my second neighbors. This class has greatly increased, 
and even improving men lend themselves to this cant. My 
improving was only intended for home consumption, and 
would have so continued, had not an estimable friend, an old 
school-mate, insisted, if I desired to benefit planters, that I 
could do more by selling seed than any other way. He had 
tried seed grown here, perhaps two years, being sent to him 
as an old and cherished friend. Others inquiring, put me in 
the way of selling seed. Of this it matters not ; a planter 
might as well sell seed of corn, oats, &c., as cotton. It is all 
sheer ruffle-shirt cant, to ridicule selling anything a man has 
to spare. To cull seed carefully, cure them properly, attend 
to correspondence, and all the little perplexities, as well as 
loss to be incurred if a full crop is not made, is not very satis- 
factory to one, unless the almighty dollar has complete posses- 
sion of him. At least, I am willing to quit the business. 



THE DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF COTTON. 121 

Some three years ago, I offered a near neighbor, and a dear 
friend, all my improvement, if lie would take the trouble off 
my hands ; and I will do so to any planter who will assure 
me of his devotedness to this matter. The man who is gov- 
erned only by cent, per cent, will not do. I plant this year 
near 200 acres, or perhaps over, of select seed. I think I 
make by it ; seUing seed is too small a business — yet to be 
called the " celebrated cotton-man of Edwards, Miss.," is 
enough to induce any one to persevere. 

All this, by the way. Eidicule may turn some men from 
principle ; it only has the effect on myself to let the writers 
and speakers see that, though not felt, it is not through want of 
perspicuity. 

We will plant as nearly an entire crop as we have good 
seed, with the Cluster cotton seed ; this is the original name, 
but known now by as many names as there are persons who 
desire to make money by selling seed. We will plant Silk 
(called McBride by some), 100-seed, Sugar Loaf, Dean, and 
small parcels of others. The CKistcr, or Banana, has been 
much improved. The best now on sale is Boyd's Prolific. 
From this I have culled very carefully for three years, I 
think, and, by way of keeping solely for home use, I call them 
Home-seed; many, who have seen this selection, deem it bet- 
ter than the original accidental variety, for I learn from Mr. 
Boyd that it was an accidental stalk. Silk is perhaps better 
for all descriptions of land ; many of my friends prefer it to 
Banana, objecting to the latter on poor, and on rich fresh 
land ; on the first, the forms dry up ; on the latter, breaks 
down — this latter can be remedied by topping, say one to two 
feet off. Sugar Loaf is best upon new ground, rich, sweet gum 
land. I have made over 41,000 lbs. the first year land was 
cleared, from twenty-four acres of land. 100-seed still retains 
its position on rich, fresh land. 
6 



122 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

Of the Jetliro, several have inquired of me if I knew it. I 
reply : In the winter of '46-7, Col. H. W. Yick sent me eight 
small parcels of cotton in the seed, and asked my examination 
and experiment. They were endorsed thus : 100-seed, Liri- 
tonia, Diamond, Original Stock, Seed taken at random from a 
pile, Belle Creole, not a distinct variety, hut inclining to Silk, 
eight locks of the Small Diamond, very valuable, Sub Ingri. 
These were planted April 23, 1847, hoed and picked by my- 
self; no one permitted to touch, except ploughing. From the 
seventh variety (inclining to Silk), I selected what I deemed 
best in the lot. I sent a few seed to J. H. Hammond, ex- 
Governor of South Carolina, and to J. V. Jones, of Georgia. 
The latter brought it into notice, and I named it, in compli- 
ment to him, Jethro. 

The history is comprised in a line. Col. Vick sent me a few 
seed, not half-a-pint ; I planted and worked the crop. J. V. 
Jones made it tell. To the latter is due the credit, and so let 
it rest. 

The Dean cotton was sent me about five years ago, I think, 
as Santa Maria, by a warm and devoted friend to agricultural 
improvement, C. B. Stewart, of Texas, from Avhom I have re- 
ceived many kind, similar favors ; the production was so mea- 
gre that I discontinued the culture. After it had attracted 
attention, by fifteen and sixteen cent, price, he again sent me 
some, and Milton Cabeen, a personal acquaintance and friend, 
procured me a few seed from Mr. Dean himself. The yield 
is not one-half of my Banana, but the staple is excellent. 
Having been so unfortunate as to make all my crop ordinary 
to low middling, and getting some seven to eight cents, I con- 
clude to make a better article, and now plant all my Dean 
seed. Silk and Banana yields about the same pure gin stand — 
say thirty-one per cent. — ginning out 500 to 1000 lbs. These 
yield more lint than any other variety I have tried. 



COTTON SEED SPECULATIONS. 123 

One word as to selecting seed. A contributor of yours 
from Texas, is very correct as to the plan to be followed in 
making the best seed. It is what all planters should do, who 
desire to. promote our cause. There is something 'else needed, 
and more than one in a hundred possess. Not alone the de- 
sire and care, but discrimination, judgment. We can tell that 
one article is not good, productive, «Scc., but to select the best 
is difficult. Frankly do I confess to want of that faculty, and 
have therefore preferred to rely upon the selection of others, 
and to labor to keep up that quality. It is sometimes good 
economy to buy a pair of pigs, even at $50, than to spend 
time and means to bring up to same perfection. This no one 
can deny. Why not th?. same of cotton, corn, oats, &c. It 
is the duty of every planter to strive to add to the knowledge 
and resources of our cause. We may fail, but the reward is 
sure — honest intention. Success to your efforts ; may they 
be satisfactory to yourself, and a blessing to our land and 
nation. Yours, &c., 

Edwards, Miss., April 10, 1855. M. W. PHILIPS. 



SECTION XIII. — COTTON SEED SPECULATIONS. 

Mr. Editor:— I have noticed, in several of the last Nos. of 
the Cultivator, descriptions and recommendations of a variety 
of new sorts of cotton seed. I have also noticed this in the 
different papers of this State. There is, at this time, a greater 
variety of cotton seed in this State, than I have ever known; 
and I think that I may with safety say, that most of them 
were introduced for the purpose of speculating. In this, I will 
be condemned by many, but by only those who are engaged 
in it. 



124 COTTON planter's manual. 

I can say, fortunately, that I am acquainted with some of 
the humbugs in the way of cotton seed. If you recollect, the 
Mastodon was introduced some four or five years since ; and 
I recollect when there was not sufficient seed in this neighbor- 
hood to supply the demand at $5 per bushel. I am acquainted 
with the gentleman who first planted and sold the seed in this 
State ; and it is generally believed that his profit was much 
greater from the sale of the Mastodon seed, than the proceeds 
of his entire crop for two years. At this time, there is not a 
seed of it growing, to my knowledge. 

The Hogan, was the great cry last year ; this year, I have 
heard but very little said of it. Some of my neighbors, who 
bought seeds at ten cents a-piece and planted them last year, 
will not plant them at all this year : which, I think, is suffi- 
cient proof that there is considerable of the hambug about 
them. 

I believe that there is more fuss respecting the Banana, this 
year, especially in the county of Warren. I have never seen 
this article of seed ; but, from what I can learn, they are iden- 
tical with the Hogan and Pitt ; and I think that the name has 
been changed in order to efi'ect an increase in the sale of the 
seed. 

The Brown, I think nothing more than an improvement on 
the Multiboll ; and there is but little difference between the 
Multiboll and Sugar Loaf These two kinds of seed I planted 
last year, and I find that they both yield well on fresh land, 
but do not do well on poor land. The only advantage that I 
can see, is in the picking. It does pick easier than the Mexi- 
can, but is much easier blown out of the bolls, and therefore 
more liable to waste. 

But, Mr. Editor, I do not wish you to think that I am op 
posed to the improvement of cotton seed. I am as much in 
favor of it as any one, but my plan is to pick the Mexican 



AGRICULTURAL HUMBUGS. 125 

seed. I think, or ratlier fear, that the introduction of the great 
variety of seed will ruin the Mexican. At present, it is almost 
impossible to get a genuine article of Mexican seed. By being 
careful, and picking our seed, we can improve them to a con- 
siderable degree. And I have noticed that those very men 
who are always collecting new corn and cotton seed, are the 
men that most generally fail in making full crops. I have no 
doubt but that a great many will readily conclude that I have 
been deceived in buying seed, and for this reason complain ; 
but my reply is, that I never have bought or sold a cotton seed 
in my life, but I have some neighbors who are in the habit of 

trying all sorts. 

I am, very respectfully, 
Cayuga, Miss., March, 1850. HINDS. 



SECTION XIV. — AGRICULTURAL HUMBUGS. 

Messrs. Editors : — When will humbuggery and extrava- 
gant representations of things and new discoveries cease ? I 
will drop back about eighteen years, and bring up my sub- 
ject as things may occur to my mind. Should I present 
names, I wish to be understood as doing it respectfully, not 
charging any one with willful false statements. Men's inter- 
est, in general, leads them, while giving an account of some- 
thing new, to give a coloring to their statements that often 
leads their hearers into error or false notions This is what I 
wish to correct. Any one writing about seeds, or anything 
else, should first make fair and disinterested trials — proving 
the thing before saying everything in its favor. Always give 
the dark side, if it has any, as well as the bright. Get men's 
anticipations raised to a high pitch about a new kind of cot- 
ton, or any other seeds, and they, for the sake of gain, go in 



126 

for the money, and soon find their disappointment, as in times 
of old — it sours, it will not keep— and cry out humbugged. 

First, Baden corn, about eighteen years since, was run up 
to a high pitch by false statements, and men went in for seed 
at about $30 a bushel — a complete failure ; the thing passed 
off in quick order. Next, in the year 1837 or '38, the Twin 
or Okra cotton seed came up ; seed sold at various prices, 
from $5 a quart to $160 per bushel. It, by-the-by, proved to 
be a pretty good kind of cotton. I have been led to believe, 
that by a mixture of that kind with the Petit Gulf, &c., have, 
by proper selection and care, sprung up all those new kinds, 
or nearly so, that we have heard so much about for the last 
five years. Be it as it may, that seed has long been num- 
bered with the things gone by. Next thing comes the making 
of sugar from common corn stalks. There was no speculation 
in this that I heard of; but what extravagant accounts did 
we hear ? Some went so far as to make out that it would 
make more sugar per acre, with proper management, than the 
sugar-cane in its proper soil and climate. How has it turned 
out ? Why, I suppose, a failure, as it has passed off — now 
never heard of. The Jerusalem Artichoke — not so much of 
a humbug, but overrated — has also gone by. Next comes 
Mr. Abby, of Mississippi, with his Mastodon cotton seed. I, 
fool like, went in for enough, one year, to plant twelve acres ; 
and, as the devil said when he sheared the hog, " a great cry 
for a little wool." Mr. Abby could not keep the reputation 
of his seed up by all he could say in the papers. They had 
to pass off — though not before he realized several thousand 
dollars, as has been said. Next comes Eemington, with 
his bridge and bed-slats — if not a humbug, certainly a failure, 
and has long since been laid as cold as a wedge. There is 
the Banana, Pomegranate, Sugar Loaf, Texan Burr, Silk, 
Brown, and Jethro cotton seeds — all very good, I have no 



AGEICULTURAL HUMBUGS. 127 

doubt; but tbere has been more said in the papers, in the way 
of puffing, than was justifiable, it being to effect certain pur- 
poses, and that of a selfish nature. At last, the very kind for 
us Georgians has been accidently discovered by a Mr. Miller, 
of Mississippi. He styles it his Accidental Poor-Land Cot- 
ton. If this kind of cotton will do all Mr. Miller says it 
will, it would be a great misfortune for us cotton planters to 
have enough of the seed to plant full crops all over the cot- 
ton-growing country. He says it will make 300 lbs. per acre 
more than any other kind of cotton he is acquainted with. This 
kind of cotton, at this rate, would run a three million crop up 
to more than four millions, and this would reduce the price 
probably to four or five cents. Don't you see, Mr. Miller, 
that we had better let you keep and plant your seed ? You 
say that you had rather plant your crop with them than take 
$1 a pint. My dear sir, $1 a pint for the seed is about $2,500 
for the seed from one bale — about fifty times as much as the 
cotton sold for. Let us alone, friend, we are doing prejtty 
well — we might do worse. 

Next comes a new kind of corn — sprung up like Jonah's 
gourd, and for which I predict a similar fate. I can tell Mr. 
Ware that no kind of corn will do on common corn land, that 
bears from four to five stalks from one grain. But to the 
price — one and a-half gallons for $5, near $40 per bushel. 
This looks like doing brother planters favors. Next comes 
Mr. Young, with his superior kind of Yellow Qorn ; a very 
good kind, I admit, for strong land and good seasons. I have 
tried, I can't say how may kinds of corn, but have experi- 
mented enough to know that a medium-sized ear of either 
white or yellow corn is the best to be depended on, if planted 
in ordinary land and common seasons. I do not like this $2 
a peck, when a good kind of corn can be had at thirty cents 
a bushel. I have a mind to say something for our much- 



128 COTTON planter's manual. 

respected old friend, tlie Doctor, of Mississippi. He has had 
a great deal to say in the papers about the different kinds of 
cotton seed, and, if I have not forgot, he, a few years since, 
spoke of the sale of cotton seed as being something in the 
order of a temporal saviour. He seems to be hauling ofP, and 
is very careless on the subject of the sale of cotton seed. You 
see what he says on the subject. 

I might have said something of the Multicaulus fever, the 
Berkshire speculation, &c., &c., but have probably already 
said more than will be acceptable. 

Yours, with great respect, 
Atlanta, Ga., Feb:, 1853. JOHN FAERAE. 



SECTION XV. — SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING. 

Mr. Editor : — In the table on the opposite page you have 
the success of a Sea Island cotton planter for the last eighteen 
years, showing the amount raised per acre in each year, the 
price received per lb. for each crop, and the net proceeds per 
hand ; also, for a part of the time, the appearance of the first 
blossoms, and the time of the first killing frost. 

To the upland, and perhaps to the more successful Sea 
Island planter, I may seem to have been doing a very small 
business, still I think there are many who have not done any 
better ; and as I know of no better way of measuring our suc- 
cess than by comparing notes, I shall be gratified in having 
the experience of any of my planting friends, for a longer or 
shorter time. 

In the eighteen years my crops of cotton have averaged a 
fraction over three acres per hand, and a yield of 137 lbs. 
per acre, and net proceeds per hand, $83. 

Libcrttj Coimtij, Ga., July, ISiS. A SEABOARD PLANTER. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON — STATISTICS. 129 

(table alluded to on preceding page.) 



Tear. 


Yield of 

Cotton per 

acre. 


Average 

price per 

lb. 


Net pro- 
ceeds per 
hand. 


Time of first 
bloesom. 


First kiliing 
frost. 




lbs. 


cts. 


$ 






1830 


90 


17 


4.5 






1831 


100 


17i 


46 






1832 


208 


17f 


85 






1833 


141 


22 


88 






1834 


112 


32 


123 






1885 


130 


34 


137 


June 22 


Nov. 28 


1836 


81 


37i 


87 






1837 


85 


26i 


73 


June 26 


Nov. 23 


1838 


86 


41 


84 


" 27 


Oct. 30 


1839 


174 


211 


95 


- 19 


Nov. 8 


1840 


154 


27 . 


110 


" 10 


Nov. 19 


1841 


153 


15| 


61 


" 18 


Oct. 26 


1842 


223 


m 


80 


" 15 


Nov. 11 


1843 


164 


22-k 


91 


" 22 


Nov. 7 


1844 


146 


^^ 


60 


" 5 


Oct. 29 


1845 


200 


22 


121 


'' 9 


Nov. 10 


*1846 


68 


24 


41 


" 16 


Nov. 25 


1847 


156 


14 


70 


u 7 


1 



Excessively wet, attended with caterpillars. 



SECTION XYI. — SEA ISLAND COTTON — STATISTICS. 



In a late Number of the Charleston Courier, we^find a "Re- 
port oh Soils, Marsh Mud, and the Cotton Plant,^^ prepared 
by Prof. Shepard, for the use of Mr. E. W. Seabrook, of Edisto 
Island. We publish it below, in the hope that it will prove 
interesting and useful to our readers on the seaboard of the 
Carolinas, G-eorgia and Florida ; and prefix some valuable 
statistics upon the growth and price of the Sea Island cotton 
during twenty-two years prior to 1841. These statistics were 
6* 



130 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

compiled by the Charleston Standard, which we quote as fol- 
lows : 

We will add a few statistics, showing the value and im- 
portance of the Sea Island cotton crop. Extending our ex- 
amination over a period of the twenty years preceding 1841, 
we find its production and price as follows ; 



1821 


Quantity 


, 11,344,066 


Av. price in ] 


Liverpool 


, 21id. 


1822 


<( 


11,250,635 


<( 


<< 


19d. 


1823 


a 


12,136,688 


11 


(( 


17id. 


1824 


a 


9,525,722 


a 


(( 


19id. 


1825 


li 


9,655,278 


i( 


a 


28id. 


1826 


tc 


5,972,852 


(( 


a 


20d. 


1827 


(( 


15,140,798 


it 


a 


14fd. 


1828 


(( 


11,288,419 


li 


a 


16d. 


1829 


<( 


12,833,307 


a 


(C 


15d. 


1830 


(( 


8,147,165 


ii 


a 


16d. 


1831 


i( 


8,311,762 


a 


a 


13id. 


1832 


u 


8,743,373 


a 


ti 


13fd. 


1833 


it 


11,142,987 


a 


a 


16id. 


1834 


« 


8,085,935 


(( 


a 


19|d. 


1835 


« 


7,752,736 


a 


a 


24id. 


1836 


It 


8,054,419 


a 


*' 


25d. 


1837 


(t 


5,286,340 


a 


i( 


26d. 


1838 


tt 


7,286,340. 








1839 


tt 


1,107,404. 








1840 


tt 


8,170,669. 








1841 


it 


6,400,000- 


-20,000 bales at 320 lbs 


. each. 



Since 1841, we have before us no reliable statistics, except 
with reference to the years 1850 and '51 and '52. With re- 
spect to the crop delivered up to the 1st of September in each 



SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING. 131 

of these years, it will appear that in 1850 it amounted, in tlie 
ports of Savannah and Charleston alone, to 26,634 bales, or 
8,522,880 lbs. ; in 1851, to 28,362 bales, or 9,075,840 lbs ; in 
1852, to 30,878 bales, or 9,878,900 lbs. And up to this date 
of the present year, we have 30,031, against 28,552 of the same 
time last year, giving us the reasonable assurance of a larger 
crop, by some 2,000 bales, than we have had for many years 
previous. 

Nor is this the only improvement. The price has very 
greatly advanced, at least within the last year. The price at 
present ranges, for San tees and Maines, from fifty to fifty -five 
cents per lb. ; for Floridas, from forty-two to forty-eight ; and for 
Sea Islands, from fifty to seventy ; and though this may be 
slightly above the ruling prices for the season, the average 
of all long staple cotton, for the entire season, would not vary 
far from forty-eight cents, leaving an immense profit to the 
planter over that afforded by any other staple. To pay as well 
as the short staple cotton, the long staple must sell for twice 
as much per lb. At present it sells for more than four times 
as much ; and its cultivation must be, therefore, by so much 
the more profitable, and give by so much the greater induce- 
ment to its continuance and extension. 



SECTION XVII.— SEA ISL4ND COTTON PLANTING, 
From the Americ^^n Agriculturist. 

EnisTO Island, one of the largest of the South Carolina group, 
about thirty miles southwest of Charleston, containing 5,000 
or 6,000 inhabitants, is the principal point where this valuable 
crop is cultivated. It is a sandy soil, but little above tide, 
which, flowing through many channels, gives very irregular 



132 COTTON planter's manual. 

shapes to the farms, but hoatable water almost at every man's 
door. By this means the crop is conveyed to market, boats 
being substituted for Avagons. There is considerable marsh, 
some of which has been reclaimed, and produces good 
cotton. 

Salt-marsh mud is much used for manure, at the rate of about 
forty one-horse cart loads to the acre. Some compost it, others 
put it in the cattle pens. Some dry it before hauling, and 
then spread upon the land. Mr. John F. Townsend prefers to 
use it as soon as dug, spread upon the land wet, and ploughed 
in. He is the only man on the island who uses ploughs to any 
extent. All the land is cultivated with hoes, upon the two- 
field system ; that is, one field in cotton, corn, and sweet po- 
tatoes; in the proportion of about seven-twelfths cotton, three- 
twelfths corn, and two-twelfths potatoes ; in all, less than six 
acres to the hand. As the soil is generally very light, it is 
unproductive without manure. Therefore, as many cattle are 
kept as can be pastured upon the "field at rest," and the 
marsh and woodland. These are penned in movable yards, 
littered with fine straw and coarse marsh-grass or weeds, which 
is also used to lay along between the old rows, to which muck 
and manure is added, and all the grass sod which has grown 
during the year is hoed down into alleys, and the bed formed 
upon it, keeping the bottom as solid as possible. 

If the plongh were substituted for the hoe, twice as much 
manure could be made ; or what, in my opinion, would be far 
more economical than digging muck or keeping so many cattle, 
merely to make manure, would be the use of guano. As this 
substance contains the same fertilizing properties of muck, in 
an hundred-fold degree, I would most earnestly recommend 
planters to try the experiment, by applying about 200 lbs. to 
the acre, ploughed in deep, or buried in the bottom of the 
cotton or corn beds. Make use of none but the best Peruvian, 



SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING. 133 

and purchase if from a reliable merchant, so as to be sure it is 
genuine. 

It is true that cattle are easily kept here, living in winter 
in cotton and clover fields, eating the unmatured bolls of the 
former and stalks of the latter. In warm winters there is much 
grass, and in summer, I believe, it is rather abundant through- 
out all the south. 

Cotton is planted from March 20th to April 10th, upon high 
beds, five feet apart one way, and from eight to twenty-four 
inches apart the other. Corn is planted about the first of 
April, upon the same kind of beds, from two to four feet apart. 
Sweet potatoes are planted the latter part of March ; also upon 
the same kind of beds as the cotton and corn. As soon as the 
vines are sufficiently grown, say on the first of June, they com- 
mence planting the " slip crop." This is done by taking the 
vines from the seed beds, and laying along the top of other 
beds, and covering a part of the vines with dirt, when they 
immediately take root, and grow a better crop than from the 
seed. The bed is made rich and mellow, but the land below 
is kept as hard and firm as possible. The beds for cotton, 
corn, and potatoes, are all made in the same manner and dis- 
tance apart, and are reversed every other crop ; that is, changed 
into the alleys of the preceding one ; but no rotation of crops 
is practised. The average yield of potatoes is about 150 
bushels to the acre. Cotton, (long staple,) 135 lbs. Corn, 
fifteen bushels of the southern white-flint variety : no other 
will stand the depredations of the weevil. 

The amount of labor to grow and prepare for market a hun- 
dred pounds of Sea Island cotton, is estimated at fifty days' 
work ; that is, the small amount of labor which a negro does 
at *' task work." The first process of preparing land for cot- 
ton, after manuring, is "listing;" that is, hoeing the grass off 
the old beds into the alleys. A "task" of this work is one- 



134 COTTOX plaxter's manual. 

fourtli or tliree-eiglitlis of an acre a-day. Ne'st, tlie old beds 
are liauled on top, at tlie same rate. The whole " task system " 
is equally light, and is one that I most unreservedly disapprove 
of, because it promotes idleness, and that is the parent of mis- 
chief. 

The system of upland-cotton and sugar planters, of giving 
the hands plenty to eat, and steady employment, is a much 
better system. Meat is not generally fed to the laborers in 
this part of the State. The diet is almost exclusively vege- 
table, varying upon different plantations somewhat. The fol- 
lowing are the weekly rations upon four places, which will 
give a general idea : 

1st. One bushel potatoes a-week, from about October 1st to 
February 1st. Then one peck of corn, ground or unground, 
as preferred ; or one peck of broken rice. Meat occasionally. 

2d. One bushel potatoes, or ten qts. corn meal, or eight qts. 
of rice, and four qts. of peas, with occasional fresh meat, and 
twenty barrels of salt fish and two barrels of molasses during 
the year. Number of people 170. 

3d. Half a bushel of potatoes, six qts. of meal, and about 
2 lbs. of fresh meat, or ten qts. of meal, or ten qts. of rice. 
Carpenters, millers, drivers, and others who do not raise crops 
and hogs for themselves, have a much larger allowance. 

4th. Half a bushel of potatoes, or ten qts. of meal, and at 
times, when the labor is hard, a quart of soup a day, and in 
light work twice a-week. This is made of 15 lbs. of meat to 
seventy-five qts. of soup, thickened with turnips, cabbage, peas, 
meal, or rice. Upon this place, as well as many others, the 
people can get as many oysters, crabs, and fish, as they like. 
They also keep a great many more hogs than their masters, 
but generally sell the pork instead of eating it. A half bushel 
of sweet potatoes, as measured out for allowance, by repeated 
weighing, averaged 43 lbs. 



SEA ISLAND COTTON PLANTING. 135 

The process of preparing Sea Island cotton for market, after 
it is grown, is so remarkable, and so little known, that I will 
give the particulars. 

In gathering it from the field, great care is taken to keep it 
clean, and free from trash and stained locks. Upon the drying 
scaffold it is sorted over, before packing away in the cotton 
house. When ginning, in fair weather, it is again spread upon 
the scaffold, and assorted. Some run it through a machine 
called a " trasher," that whips it up and takes out sand and 
loose dirt. It then goes to the gins, which are the same kind 
first invented; none of the many new inventions have been 
found efficient, and the Whitney gin totally unfit for Sea Island 
cotton. These simple machines are 3^ feet high, 2 feet long, 
and 1 wide, with an iron fly-wheel like that of a " box corn- 
sheller," upon each side, working a pair of wooden rollers, 
made of hard oak, about ten inches long aud nearly an inch 
in diameter, held together by screws. In one instance, I saw 
a simple S'pring-bearer under the lower roller, and an iron one 
on top, to prevent the cotton from winding. These rollers 
wear out, and have to be replaced by new ones every day. I 
Avould recommend gutta-percha, as worthy of a trial, as a sub- 
stitute for wood, as something tough and hard is required. 
The rollers are moved by the foot, like a small turning-lathe, 
the operator standing at one end of the gin, feeding the cotton 
very slowly through the rollers, leaving the smooth black seeds 
behind. A "task" is from 20 to 30 lbs. a-day, according to 
quality. Twenty or thirty of these little machines stand in 
one room ; and, strange to say, none of those who have at- 
tempted to propel them by other power have succeeded. One 
very intelligent gentleman told me that he had spent $5,000 
in trying experiments in machinery to gin this kind of cotton. 
From the gins, the cotton is taken to the mote-table, where 
a woman looks it over very carefully and picks out every little 



136 COTTON planter's manual. 

mote or stained lock, as fast as tAvo men gin. From the mote- 
table it goes through the hands of a general superintendent, 
or overlooker, and then to the packer. This operation is done 
hy sewing the end of a bag over a hoop, and suspending it 
through a hole in the floor, and in this the packer stands with 
a wooden or iron pestle, packing one bale of about 350 lbs. 
a-day, as fast as it is ginned; as exposure to the air injures 
the quality, and it is not so saleable in square bales packed in 
presses, as it is in hand-packed bags. 

The whole operation of preparing this valuable staple for 
market, requires the nicest work and careful watching of the 
operatives, as a little carelessness injures the value to the con- 
sumer. It is worth from 30 to 50 cents a pound — more than 
common wool. 

The cultivation of these plantations is exceeding neat — too 
much so, probably, for the greatest profit, as has been proved, 
I think, by Mr. Townsend, in the use of ploughs instead of 
hoes. Mr. T. has also proved that sugar-cane will grow well, 
and has put up a small mill, and made some sugar. The cane 
matures fifteen joints, and granulates well. 



I 



CHAP TER lY. 

DISEASES AND INSECTS DESTRUCTIVE OF THE COTTON 

PLANT. 



SECTION I. — THE COTTON-WOEM, ITS HISTORY, CHARACTER, 

VISITATIONS, ETC. 

Correspondence of De Bow's Review. 

The following are some remarks on the nature of the cotton- 
fly of 1846, being a sequel to a dissertation on the usefulness 
of a knowledge of the natural history of insects, written last 
winter, I send you that portion only which treats of the cot- 
ton-fly, as falling more especially within the province of your 
periodical. This manuscript would not have sought a place 
upon your pages had not my attention been drawn to it by 
the ill-founded apprehensions of many planters concerning 
the present existence of the cotton-worm ; an event utterly 
impossible, for if it makes its appearance at all this season, it 
most certainly will not do so until the cotton plant has attained 
its greatest maturity. I see also in your Eeview a communi- 
cation claiming to show the means by which the army-worm 
may be effectually eradicated, in which is displayed the great- 
est ignorance as to the general laws which govern the insect 
world. The writer states that the chrysalis of the cotton-fly 
may be ploughed up, and thus destroyed, &c. Now these 

[137] 



138 COTTON planter's manual. 

chrysalides never go in the ground at all, but are invariably 
attached to something above the surface. This is a fact that 
could not have escaped the attentive observer. I ask how a 
chrysalis invariably formed above ground, and incapable of 
locomotion, is to work its way beneath the soil ? As to the 
insect in any condition secreting itself in the earth, beneath 
the bark of trees, under fallen timber, &c., it is altogether a 
mistake, if not an absurdity, and easier asserted than proved. 
In treating of the cotton-fly in the following pages, my aim 
has been to found my assertions upon general principles, and 
though the practised entomologist may find some inaccuracies 
in the detail, yet I insist upon the principles as universal and 
incontrovertible. 

Let us now pass to the consideration of the cotton-fly, pre- 
mising, however, before entering into an examination of this 
destructive little moth, that my remarks are intended less to 
enlighten others than to elicit information from some one who 
is better able to inform the public mind on this interesting 
subject. As for myself, I must confess that my limited ob- 
servations do not justify me in coming to any positive conclu- 
sions, and have by no means satisfied my curiosity ; but my 
information, such as it is, I give in the following pages, with 
the hope that, however imperfect it may prove in the main, 
yet that some mite of information may be gleaned from it. It 
is impossible to think for a moment that this species of moth 
has escaped the observation of entomologists, for the plant 
upon which it feeds to the absolute exclusion of all others, 
(being the great staple production of many countries,) must 
have brought it into notice at various times and at various 
places. From its univorous nature, (to coin a word,) it must 
have been coeval with and inseparable from the existence of 
the cotton plant. My principal motive for broaching this sub- 
ject is on account of the frequent remarks made and fears 



THE COTTON-WORM. 139 

entertained, that the army-worm would become an annual 
plague. But since I have investigated their nature I have 
come to the conclusion that these fears are groundless, and 
that the cotton-fly can never become naturalized in our 
climate. 

The first irruption, as I am informed by an old planter, that 
this insect made on the cotton fields of Louisiana, was about 
the year 1820, when its progress was marked with the same 
utter destruction of the cotton crop as in the subseq[uent years 
of their appearance. * It then disappeared until '40, a period 
of twenty years. There is something singular and unaccount- 
able in the periods of this insect, something vastly different 
from the periodicities of others which we find with us, for they 
appear to be governed by some fixed laws ; the most of them 
are annual, very few biennial. Now, the grasshopper, house- 
fly and mosquito may be looked for at the return of summer 
with as much confidence and certainty as we look for the 
revolutions of the seasons. The cicada septendecein never 
fails to make his appearance once in seventeen years. But 
who can tell whether the cotton-fly will appear next year or 
fifty years hence ? No scourge, whether under the form of a 
devouring insect or that of a malignant disease, ever became 
annual in one particular place. Look at the locust of Egypt ; 
suppose that voracious insect to become annual, the prolific 
valley of the Nile, once the granary of Asia and Europe, 
would become a howling desert. Look at the plague that 
devastates sometimes Smyrna and Constantinople; did the 
cause of that distemper act with the like intensity at each 
return of the season, those flourishing cities would long since 
have been numbered with Thebes and Memphis. Let the 
cholera or yellow fever prevail in New Orleans every year, 
as it has at times, and that great emporium of the Southwest 
would become a puny village. Is there not an invisible hand 



140 coTTOx planter's manual. 

that sways the destinies of the world ? a hand that stays the 
devastations of plague, pestilence and famine ? The cotton- 
fly belongs to that numerous class of insects known to natural- 
ists under the term of flialena or moth tribe. The following 
are its specific characters, without the technicalities made use 
of by the naturalist, so far as they could well be avoided. 
Antennae, or little horns projecting from the head, setaceous or 
terminating in a point like a bristle, of a drab color, five lines 
in length, being about half the length of the body. Wings 
incumbent, deflexa ; under surface of tiiorax or breast of a 
dull silvery white, insensibly terminating on the abdomen, and 
wings in a color tending to a russet ; the upper surface of the 
wings and back varying somewhat in different individuals, 
but generally of a changeable golden color with ferruginous 
zigzag lines traversing the surface transversely ; posterior 
margin bordered with a narrow strip of pale pink color, with 
small denticulations. On the upper surface of the wings there 
are two black spots, one on each, about the middle of the base; 
legs vrhite, the four posteriors very long when compared with 
the front ones, which are short and slender; the tail simple. 
The length of this insect is about nine lines from head to tail. 
Expansion of the wings, at the tips, about the same measure- 
ment. To conclude, I will add that the shape of this moth 
is very much like that of an isosceles triangle, with the line 
forming the base inflected inwardly about two lines. This 
peculiar figure is produced by the exterior angle of the upper 
wings projecting beyond that of the interior angle. 

During the present year, the time that my observations 
commenced for the first time, the cotton-fly again made its ap- 
pearance in the latter part of August, at first making but 
little progress, but about the middle of September their num- 
bers increased so prodigiously, that in many instances they 
would eat over a field of several hundred acres in four or eight 



THE COTTON-WORM. 141 

days. The number of eggs deposited by the female is un- 
certain ; they are smaller than a mustard seed, and always de- 
posited on the under surface of the leaf during the night ; in 
a few days their eggs hatch. The worm, at first a minute 
living point, falls immediately to work to devour the leaf; its 
growth is rapid, for its labors cease not night nor day until it 
arrives at maturity ; it then winds itself up in a leaf by 
means of a ^veb resembling a cohweb, casts its skin and 
changes into a chrysalis, in which state it remains ten days, 
then it bursts the thin walls of the chrysalis, and comes forth a 
perfect insect. In turn, it begins the work of reproduction, 
deposits its eggs, and in ten more days it dies. 

Thus in every ten days there is an additional generation, 
and they go on increasing ad infinitum. As soon as the leaves 
were consumed in a field this great army took up its march : 
some in search of comfortable quarters, where they might re- 
pose from their labors ; others on a foraging expedition to re- 
plenish the means of their subsistence. The first took shelter 
in the first leaf they met with, but generally they proceeded 
as far as the fence, a barrier beyond which they never trav- 
elled, where they found a plentiful supply of leaves, in which 
they enveloped themselves. The second division extended 
their march much farther, sometimes travelling half a mile 
from the point whence they started, perishing by cart-loads 
for the want of food and the many casualties to which their 
journey subjected them, such as carriage wheels, heat of the 
sun, and the rapacity of birds. 

Here then it would appear was an end of the cotton-worm 
for a season at least; for those which yet remain in chrysalis 
in the fence-corners, will change to the fly in ten days. But 
where are now the cotton leaves upon which the pregnant fe- 
male is to deposit her eggs ? There is not one left. If they 
are placed on any other leaf the eggs may hatch, but the 



142 COTTON planter's manual. 

worm must perish, as we have just seen them perisMng by 
myriads while wending their way through a various and lux- 
uriant herbage in search of that food intended for them by 
nature. In ten days from the time that the worm becomes a 
chrysalis on the borders of the cotton fields, a host of flies are 
seen issuing therefrom : they go forth in search of food for 
their forthcoming progeny; now it is to be found their days 
are numbered, in ten more if they meet with uo cotton leaves, 
they themselves must die, and thus put an end to the whole 
race. But their search is continued, and now, when the weary 
insect is ready to finish its term of days, a tender but sparse 
foliage crowns the leafless twigs of the cotton plant. On them 
the eggs are deposited : they hatch, the worm eats, returns 
again to its chrysalis. The cotton stalk still puts forth new 
leaves, they grow and expand until the fields again look 
green ; ten days, ay, forty elapse, yet there is not a worm to 
be found. One would have thought that this second crop of 
leaves would scarcely have been sufficient for a single repast 
for them, yet the food that they so lately devoured with such 
voraciousness is now left untouched. What is the matter ? 
Why don't they eat, their food is spread before them ? Eead 
on, the answer will be found in the seq[uel. Let us examine 
the cause. In nearly every fourth leaf we find a chrysalis 
writhing and contorting itself at the touch. Ah ! here is the 
explanation of the difficulty ; this is no ten days' chrysalis, 
but that in which it is to hibernate, possibly for one winter, 
perchance for twenty. Let us take a pocketful of these home, 
and place them beneath tumblers, and wait patiently to see 
what they will produce. If I had found a treasure my delight 
could not have been greater than that I experienced at the 
idea of unravelling this mystery. But man is prone to disap- 
pointment, as we shall soon see. About the 15th of N^ovem- 
ber, the insect appeared, but mirahile dictii ! as dijfferent from 



THE COTTON-WORM. 143 

the cotton-fly as it is possible to suppose one insect could dif- 
fer from another. It belonged altogether to a different family, 
a description of which I give, as follows : 

Antennse filiform ; black, six lines in length. Palpi four ; 
two external and two intermediate, the external white, twice 
the length of the other two, in shape angular, the angle pro- 
jecting externally. The two middle are straight, scarcely 
perceptible over a strong light ; they are of a dark color. 
Wings four; hymenopterous ; incumbent, extending to and 
exactly even with the end of the tail ; shape of the wings, 
which are small and extremely thin and delicate, like that 
of a fan. Front legs half the length of the posterior, of a 
uniform orange color; the intermediate legs very little longer 
than the anterior; the thighs of a deep orange color, the rest 
of the leg annulated with orange and white. The posterior 
legs long in comparison to the others ; thighs of a deep orange 
color, the rest of the leg annulated with black and white, 
the rings being larger than those of the intermediate. The 
trunk is a uniform shining black, as would be the upper sur- 
face of the abdomen also, were it not for the very narrow white 
bands which connect the black scales together, giving to the ab- 
domen an annulated appearance ; these white lines do not en- 
circle the abdomen, but terminate uniformly on the sides. On 
the under surface of the abdomen these white rings again 
commence, which are much larger than those on the upper 
surface, causing the abdomen to look almost white. The tail 
terminates in a bifurcated sheath, enclosing a long blunt sting, 
projecting considerably beyond the tail, and forming a very 
prominent feature in the general figure of the insect. This is 
a small, slender insect, much longer than the honey bee, 
but not so thick. 

Now it is evident from its specific character, as well as from 
its parasitic nature, this insect belongs to that numerous class 



144 coTTox planter's manual. 

called ichneumons, of which there are upwards of five hundred 
species. As I am not at present in possession of any prac- 
tical work on Entomology, I cannot determine the species 
of this ichneumon, but to show that it differs in some respects, 
from the family to which it belongs, I will quote a paragraph 
from a work before me, in which are set forth some peculiari- 
ties belonging to that class of insects as a genus : 

" The whole of this singular genus have been denominated 
parasitical, on account of the very extraordinary manner in 
which they provide for the future support of their young. The 
fly feeds on the honey of flowers, and when about to lay her 
eggs, perforates the body of some other insect or its larvae 
with its sting or instrument at the end of the abdomen, and 
then deposits them. The eggs in a few days hatch, and the 
young larvae, which resemble minute white maggots, nourish 
themselves with the juices of the foster parent, which, how- 
ever, continues to move about and feed until near the time of 
its changing into a chrysalis, when the larvae of the ichneu- 
mon creep out by perforating the skin in various places, and 
each spinning itself up in a small oval silken case, changes 
into a chrysalis, and after a certain period they emerge in the 
state of complete ichneumons." 

It will be seen that there is a peculiarity attached to this 
ichneumon not included in the above description ; that of ap- 
propriating the chrysalis, as well as the larvae of other insects, 
to the use of their young. All ichneumons that I ever read of, 
spin their own chrysalis, but this is the prince of parasites, for 
not content with eating the substance of his neighbor, he 
seizes also on his house. So far as I have read concerning 
this curious family of insects, this is a nondescript. As an 
example of these insects called ichneumons, I may mention the 
ichneumon seductor, or dirt-dauber, well known to everybody 
as that wasp-like insect, which builds its clay houses on the 



THE COTTON-WORM. 145 

walls, and particularly in the recesses of windows, to tlie great 
annoyance of the tidy housewife. 

Thus is answered the question, why the cotton-fly did not 
again eat up the scant foliage which subsequently appeared 
on the stalks. This little usurper goes forth in search of 
" whom he may devour," and as soon as he finds a house built 
and well provisioned, he seizes upon it for his posterity, which 
he does in the following manner » When he finds a cotton- 
worm, he pierces it with the instrument with which its-tail is 
armed, and deposits an egg; the cotton-worm soon spins itself 
up into its case, there to await the period of its perfection, 
which never arrives, for soon the egg of the ichneumon hatches, 
and falls to devouring his helpless companion. This work of 
extermination continues until there is not a vestige of the cot- 
ton-fly left. I venture to say, while I am now writing (1st 
of December), there is not an egg, chrysalis, or fly, in the con- 
fines of the United States. My speculations on the nature and 
habits of the fly have led me to adopt the following hypothesis : 
That it is a native of tropical climates, and never can pass a 
single winter beyond them, consequently, never can become 
naturalized in the United States, or any where else where the 
cotton plant is not perennial, for nature has made no provision 
by which they can survive more than ten or twelve days, 
therefore they must perish wherever the cotton plant perishes 
during a period of six months. That wherever they have pre- 
vailed in our cotton-growing regions, it is when they have become 
very numerous, and consumed all the cotton in their native 
climes, and then go in search of their food in more northern 
climates. It is not to be presumed that this happens often, 
but the same remark will hold in regard to the cotton-fly as it 
will to many other insects, that owing to some unknown cause, 
they become exceedingly numerous, but at long and irregular 
intervals. The locust has already been noticed as an example, 

T 



146 COTTON planter's manual. 

and many more might be cited. I, however, will mention 
another to which I was an eye-witness. About eighteen years 
ago, the green or hloio-fiy became so numerous that thousands 
of animals perished by them, also some human beings. The 
least spot of blood, the moisture of the mouth, eyes or nose, 
was sufficient to cause a deposit of eggs. Sick persons, par- 
ticularly those who had not proper attention, suffered. Several 
negro children, who cam» under my notice, fell a sacrifice 
to them ; and it was with difficulty that many others were 
saved. In these instances, the fly deposited the eggs within 
the nostrils, where they soon caused death by producing in- 
flammation of the brain. This fly is annual, and scarcely ever 
deposits its eggs on an animal, except it be the victim of a 
running sore ; but at the period alluded to above, it appeared 
that there was scarcely animal flesh enough to feed the mag- 
gots of this numerous host. It is but once within my recol- 
lection that I have witnessed this phenomenon ; and neither 
before nor since have I heard of such ravages of the green-fly. 
Why they should have existed in such incredible numbers at 
the time referred to, is a question not to be easily answered. 

There are three circumstances upon which I found my 
arguments in support of my hypothesis of the cotton-fly : 
First, Nature has made no provision by which it could survive 
the winter season. Second, The irregularity of their appear- 
ance. Third, Their progress from south to north, and from 
west to east. 

It may be remarked, on proposition first, that all insects in- 
cluded within the genus pJialena, hibernate in the state of a 
chrysalis, therefore it is utterly impossible for the cotton-fly to 
hibernate in that manner, as they remain but ten days in 
chrysalis. The fly does not hibernate, for the period of their 
existence is but ten or twelve days. It cannot be in the state 
of the e^^, for it is a law equally inflexible with regard to this 



THE COTTON-WORM. 147 

tribe, that the egg must be deposited on the leaf on which the 
larvae are to feed ; and the reason is very plain, for these larvse, 
when first hatched, are minute living points, of an exceedingly 
helpless nature, almost devoid of locomotion, or possessing it 
in too small a degree to enable it to go in search of its food. 
But let us suppose that the egg does survive the winter; how 
does it happen that when the worm first makes it appearance, 
it is found on the very summits of the cotton, instead of the 
lower branches ? parts that it would reach the soonest, if it 
proceeded from the ground upwards. 

The jplidlena mosi, or silk-worm, is an insect of the same 
genus as the cotton-fly, and whose habitudes are very much 
the same as the latter, tropical in its nature, confining itself to 
a particular vegetable, the different species of mulberry, and 
being short-lived in the chrysalis, remaining in this state but 
fifteen days. At the approach of winter, when the mulberry 
trees cast their leaves, and remain leafless for many months, 
these insect, in our climate, would all perish, were they left 
to themselves. But art, in this respect, has triumphed over 
nature ; for the silk grower at a certain season gathers a parcel 
of eggs, and places them in a cold dark place until the mul- 
berry tree shall again afford them food in the spring, and in 
this manner they are perpetuated, and this is the only possible 
way that they could be preserved here. They are like some 
tender exotic, which flourishes as long as the warmth of the 
hot-house affords them a congenial atmosphere, but perishes 
if left to buffet the rigors of winter. 

Proposition second. Here I contend that when an insect 
is a native of, or naturalized, in any country, they are always 
governed by some invariable laws which determine their ap- 
pearance. The grasshopper is annual, coming every spring or 
summer ; the locust of our climate septem-decennial, appear- 
ing once in seventeen years ; but the cotton-fly has no regular 



148 

periods of return, showing that when it reaches our climate, it 
is by some casualty. 

In proposition third, I maintain that if the cotton-fly so- 
journs here during the winter or winters, when it did appear' 
at all, it would do so simultaneously through the whole cotton 
district, instead of which Ave see it progressing regularly from 
south to north, and from west to east. 

Such are the speculations that I have entertained concern- 
ing the cotton-worm, from which I conclude that it originates 
in South America, and reaches us through Mexico, and never 
can become a denizen of our soil. 

Bayou Sara, June 1, 1847. 



SECTION II. — THE RUST AMONG THE COTTON. 

From the American Cotton Planter. 

During my geological tour through some of the eastern 
counties of our State, I have frequently (more especially in 
the prairies,) been asked, " If I could suggest a remedy for the 
rust on the cotton plant." I have invariably stated my views 
to all those who inquired ; but as that question is one of gene- 
ral interest, it will not be amiss to repeat them here, on the 
pages of a popular journal, devoted to southern planting and 
farming. 

The boll-worm and the rust are decidedly the arch-enemies 
of the cotton plant ; and I am very much afraid that the first 
will, in the course of comparatively a few years, increase to 
such an extent as to destroy two-thirds of the whole cotton 
crop, render the cultivation of that plant unprofitable, and ruin 
in that way our southern El-dorado. A remedy for this scourge 
of the cotton planter, which now destroys fully one-third of 



THE RUST AMONG THE COTTON. 149 

our cotton crop, although it made its first appearance not mo^-e 
than ten or twelve years ago, can, with our present ignorance 
about the nature of that insect, possibly not now be found. In 
the interest of the southern planter, I have tried to draw the 
attention not only of the agriculturists of the southern States, 
but 'also that of Mississippi, to that all-important subject; and 
prominent southern editors, of this Cotton Planter, and DeBoiv^s 
Review, have kindly assisted me in promulgating my sugges- 
tions ; but so little have I succeeded in arousing the attention 
of those societies, that my disinterested communicatione have 
not even elicited a satisfactory consideration and answer. 

If a remedy against the increase and ravages of the boll- 
worm cannot now be devised, ®n account of our ignorance of 
the nature of that insect, the case is different with the rust of 
the cotton plant. The nature of this rust is easily found out 
by the aid of a sufficiently powerful microscope, and known to 
be nothing else but a parasitical fungus, growing upon the 
stock and branches of the cotton plant. This fungus is pro- 
duced by a diseased state of the plant, caused by a stagnation 
in its growth, and a consequent relaxation in the circulation of 
the fluid or sap of the plant. Such a stagnation in the growth 
of the cotton plant can be produced by an unfavorable season, 
it is true, and rust will appear in such cases everywhere, even 
in the freshest and best kinds of soil. Such cases are beyond 
the control of the best agriculturist, and belong to those chances 
which he has to bear ; but such cases are extremely rare — of 
one hundred cases of rust among the cotton, perhaps scarcely 
one is owing to an unfavorable season, and ninety-nine to a 
defective cultivation ; and these cases are consequently under 
the control of the agriculturist. 

The rust appears onl}^ very seldom on fresh land; but most 
generally on such as has been for some time under cultivation, 
and is exhausted by abuse, or an unnatural or defective man- 



150 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

agement. Agriculture is, in our southern States, not yet 
carried on as an art and a science^ whicli it is indeed, but, un- 
fortunately, only as a mechanical business, which we continue 
to execute in that rude manner as it has been handed to us by 
our ancestors, and modify it only according to our convenience. 
We ask every thing from Nature, and are unwilling to do more 
than is absolutely necessary. The unavoidable consequence 
is, that in a very few years we exhaust the best of our lauds ; 
they then refuse to yield adequate crops, and produce diseases 
of the vegetables which blast our hopes. 

A plant does not only draw its food from the atmosphere by 
means of its foliage, absorbing the oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, 
and ammonia, which the atmosphere contains, but it requires 
also a certain amount of the inorganic constituents of the soil 
in which it roots; it lives, therefore, mostly at the expense 
of that soil. Every plant requires always the same nourish- 
ment ; the consequence is, that if the same plant be cultivated 
or live a long time on the same soil, it must, in the course of 
time, be entirely deprived of those substances which that plant 
requires for its growth. May I illustrate this by an example ? 

According to an analysis of the ashes of the cotton plant, 
(made in one of the northern colleges, and which I give for 
what it is worth,) it contains, in 100 parts : 

1. Potash, - . . . 29.58 

2. Lime, 24.34 

3. Magnesia, ... - 3.73 

4. Chloride, - - . - 0.65 

5. Phosphoric Acid, - - - 34.92 

6. Sulphuric Acid, - . - 3,54 

7. Silica, 3.24 

Potash, phosphoric acid, and lime, are therefore the principal 
ingredients of the cotton plant ; and, in order to live and sue- 



THE RUST AMONG THE COTTON. 151 

ceed, it must consume them in sufficient quantities. The at- 
mosphere contains none of those contents, consequently the 
whole amount of them must come from the soil in which the 
plant roots. If, now, the cotton plant be cultivated for a 
number of years in succession on a body of land, that land 
must be entirely deprived of those ingredients, at least of that 
part which is in solution. As soon as the quantity begins to 
become insufficient, even only of one of those ingredients, the 
cotton plant will no longer grow vigorously ; a stagnation of 
its growth must take place until the insufficiency has been 
supplied ; such a stagnation produces diseases of all kinds, and 
among them the rust. 

A sovereign remedy against the rust is, therefore, the intro- 
duction of a system of agriculture in conformity with Nature, 
and with the science which has been abstracted from a long 
practice, and the investigation of the nature of plants and soils 
by chemical analysis. 

If we observe Nature closely, we will find that if certain 
vegetables, which have grown for a long time upon the same 
soil, are removed from that soil, the same kind will not be re- 
produced spontaneously, but quite different genera and species 
will appear; the simple reason is, because the soil has been 
exhausted of such ingredients as that kind of vegetables require 
for its growth ; but there are still other ingredients in it which 
are suitable for other plants, of a different genus and species, 
and such will appear spontaneously upon the soil, and grow 
luxuriantly. Nature points, therefore, to a rotation of crops 
in agriculture ; and if we obey Nature and observe such a ro- 
tation — if we supply, from time to time, those ingredients which 
are most necessary for the growth of our crops, our lands will 
never be exhausted ; on the contrary, they will improve, and 
the vegetables which we cultivate will grow luxuriantly, with- 
out a stagnation in their growth, — they will remain free from 



152 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

all those diseases caused by such a stagnation, consequently 
also from the rust, and yield an abundant crop. 

Not havmg been accustomed to systematic manuiing of our 
land, we think it very difficult, laborious, and even expensive. 
It is indeed not so ; it is much less troublesome and expensive 
than clearing and taking in new land when the old is ex- 
hausted and unfit for further cultivation ; but we are accus- 
tomed to the latter, and not accustomed to the former, therefore 
we are prejudiced against it, and imagine it to be much more 
troublesome than it really is. In some of our States it is dif- 
ficult to procure manure, and some trouble may arise from that 
circumstance ; but, indeed, if we introduce a manner of agri- 
culture suitable to our soil and climate, much manure is not 
required to keep our land in constant fertility. The first 
requisite for such an agriculture, is to prepare our soil well, to 
plough and harrow it in such a manner that the soil becomes 
perfectly mellow, to allow the vegetables which we sow or 
plant in it to take root, and the atmosphere to operate upon it 
and have a dissolving influence upon its contents. 

If we sow our wheat upon entirely unprepared land, from 
which the corn or cotton has just been harvested, without 
ploughing and harrowing it before, and bury the seed with 
brush-wood, as the uncivilized Indian would do, unprovided 
with the implements of enlightened agriculture, it is of course 
impossible to reap an adequate and remunerating crop ; it 
may perhaps be adequate, not to the forces of our land, which 
have not been developed, but only to the rude and imperfect 
manner of our agriculture. Land cultivated in such a manner 
has neither been exposed to the dissolving influence of the 
rays of the sun and the atmosphere, nor has it been made 
mellow enough, and a few grains of the seed will only fall in 
such a situation where they can germinate and root easily ; 
the necessary consequence will be, that the wheat stands too 



THE RUST AMOXG THE COTTON. 153 

thin, but even for the thin stand the soil is not sufficiently 
worked, and its forces not developed ; diseases of all kind of 
the plant will appear, and the crop be a very poor one. Such 
an agriculture is nothing but a rude attempt to save labor, but 
it is only done at the expense of the crop, and if labor be 
saved, the value of the crop is certainly most unproportion- 
ably diminished ; hence it happens then that even from fine 
land, which ought to yield from twenty -five to thirty bushels 
of wheat, an average crop of from six to twelve bushels can 
only be made. Let me ask if a little more labor would not be 
well paid, if, with that additional labor, consisting of plough- 
ing and harrowing the land before we sow the wheat, and 
then again harrowing the seed under, we can more than 
double the crop ? The reward will certainly appear to be an 
ample one, if we consider that, with such a manner of agricul- 
ture, half the land is sufficient to produce the same quantity 
of wheat as the double quantity with a rude and imperfect 
cultivation. 

Our cotton land is generally better prepared than our land 
for small grain, but, by its cultivation, we commit especially 
the grave error, to continue for a number of years to plant 
the cotton in the same land, instead of introducing a rotation 
of our crops. With such a rotation, a little manure is all-suf- 
ficient to keep the land always in a fine state of fertility, and 
to improve instead of exhausting it. Let us see how such a 
rotation can be most profitably managed : 

Our crop here in the southern States consists, principally, 
in cotton, corn, wheat, oats, peas, or small grain in general, 
and potatoes. Half of our land, at least, is generally planted 
in cotton, and the other half in corn, small grains, and pota- 
toes. Commencing now with a fresh body of land of one 
hundred acres, we may plant the first year fifty acres in cot- 
ton, twenty-five in corn, and twenty-five in small grains and 

7* 



154 COTTON planter's manual. 

potatoes. The second year we plant tlie cotton on those fifty 
acres from which corn, small grains and potatoes have been 
harvested, and, vice versa, the corn, small grains and potatoes 
on the cotton land. The third year we plant the cotton again 
on the same fifty acres on which it grew the first year — the 
corn on the land on which the small grains and potatoes 
grew the first year, and the small grains and potatoes on the 
land which produced corn the first year. Every part of the 
land has then borne in succession all the different vegetables 
of our crop, and half of it has borne our principal article, cot- 
ton, twice. The fourth year we let twenty-five acres of this 
last-mentioned land rest, and fallow it, and divide the remain- 
ing seventy-five acres into three parts, viz. ; thirty-seven and 
one-half acres for cotton, eighteen and three-fourths for corn, 
and eighteen and three-fourths for small grains and potatoes, 
selecting the cotton land from those fifty acres which have 
only once borne a crop of cotton. If we observe such a change, 
and fallow one-quarter of our land every year, so that after 
four years every portion of the one hundred acres has had a 
year of rest, we can cultivate our fresh land, according to its 
quality, from eight to twelve, perhaps from sixteen to twenty 
years without manure, and we will, with such a rotation, 
scarcely perceive any decrease of its fertility. After the lapse 
of those years, we not only keep up its fertility, but even 
increase it, if we manure those twenty-five acres which 
have been fallowed. After the lapse of four years, all our 
land has in that way been manured. Such a system of agri- 
culture is easily introduced ; and followed up with care and 
without much labor and expense, it will not only not exhaust 
the land, but increase its fertility; it will render agriculture 
more easy, the land becoming more and more mellow and dis- 
integrated and deprived of those stumps of trees and roots 
which obstruct the cultivation of the soil so much : and lastly, 



THE BUST AMOXG THE COTTON. 155 

it renders the taking in of new land perfectly superfluous, 
unless we increase our workers. The continual fertility of the 
land will prevent a stagnation in the growth of our crops ; 
there will be little or no disease among them, and especially 
the rust of the cotton plant will seldom appear, and only then 
when the unfavorable seasons produce it. 

Such a rotation of our crops has another most salutary 
and remunerating influence upon our cotton field — it will most 
certainly dhninisk the ravages of the boll-wor7n, and the ene- 
mies of the cotton plant in general. The boll-worm is a cater- 
pillar, the larvae of a lepidopterous insect or butterfly of the 
night-swarming family, called Noctua, which, as all the insects 
of that tribe, undergo, after having been hatched, three dis- 
tinct metamorphoses, or changes. The insect originates in the 
form of a small ^^^, not near as large as the head of the small- 
est pin ; the hatching of this ^^^, after a few days, produces 
the worm or caterpillar ; this, when full grown, changes into 
a chrysalis or cocoon, and this, after ten or twelve days, is 
transformed into the perfect insect, butterfly or noctua. The 
individual natural history of the boll-worm is as yet very 
little known, but having the generalities of its nature in com- 
mon with other insects of the same tribe, which are better 
known to entomologists, it must be, during the winter and 
the whole time when there is no food for it, either in the 
state of an ^g^^ which is indeed most probable, or in the state 
of a chrysalis or cocoon ; it can possibly not hibernate as a 
perfect insect or butterfly, not finding any food until late in 
summer. The eggs or cocoons that hibernate must be hidden 
in the neighborhood where the perfect insect lived, conse 
quently in the cotton fields or near them. If such fields are 
not planted again in cotton next spring, the largest number 
qf the brood must necessarily perish, the little caterpillars 
not finding any aliment suitable for them, and not being able 



156 COTTON planter's manual. 

to creep to other cotton fields. A generally introduced rota- 
tion of crops must accordingly greatly diminish this dreadful 
enemy of our principal southern staple. We perceive, there- 
fore, how beneficial such a rotation of crops must he ; it not 
only prevents the most pernicious diseases of the cotton plant, 
hut also the ravages of its most dangerous enemy, the boll- 
worm, and will certainly save us the one-third of the whole 
crop. 

In our prairie soils, and wet and heavy soils in general, there 
is another cause vv'-hich produces the rust among the cotton ; 
this is the superabundance of moisture and the stagnation of 
the rain-water in the field. It is this which renders the prairie 
soil especially subject to the rust of the cotton plant. Too 
much moisture and stagnant water, heated by the rays of the 
sun, produce immediately a stagnation in the growth of that 
vegetable ; it does not allow it to imbibe enough of that solid 
matter necessary for its growth, especially as this plant is 
much more adapted to dry and light, than to wet and heavy 
soil ; if we, therefore, will plant cotton in heavy and wet, es- 
pecially in prairie soil, it is ahsolutely necessary that this soil 
should be as much as possible protected against superabund- 
ance of moisture and stagnation of rain-water. This can only 
be done by a vigorous system of draining ; by ditching where 
it is necessary, and leading the water, by means of deep fur- 
rows, into the ditches. In fact, in no soil a sj^stem of ditching- 
is more necessary than in the prairie soil. If it is neglected 
even only in one place, and the rust makes its appearance, if 
only in that one place, it will soon spread over the largest 
portion of the field, it being an infective disease ; the minute 
seeds of the microscopic mushroom ripen quick, and are car-, 
ried by the slightest breeze all over the field. 

University of Mississippi, Dec. 23, X854, L. HABPEft. 



INSECT PHYSIOLOGY — THE BOLL-WOEM. 157 



SECTION III. — INSECT PHYSIOLOGY — THE BOLL-WORM. 

Mr. Editor : — I liave concluded to write you an article or 
two on the insects which are injurious to the agriculturist of 
the South. I will begin with what is vulgarly called the holl- 
worm, a caterpillar, which, for the regularity of its visits and 
length of time it remains, we may consider as fixed upon us. 
This is decidedly the most destructive insect that feeds upon 
the cotton plant in this climate. Insects of some sort prey 
upon almost every species of the vegetable kingdom, and we 
must learn the habits and natural history of insects, if we- wish 
to discover the most effectual remedies to prevent their depre- 
dations. This insect is an anomaly in the natural history of 
insects, for it is much more destructive to the plant, cotton 
[gossypium), for which it was never made, than to the one to 
which it naturally belongs, corn {zea mays). If I am right 
in my supposition, this insect is the caterpillar we find in the 
end of ears of corn, eating the silk, and some little of the corn. 
This insect is at the north as well as at the south — in fact, it 
is wherever the corn grows, and will never depredate upon the 
cotton plant, unless through necessity. The moth of this 
caterpillar belongs to the order lepidoptera. The character of 
this order is (according to the system of Dr. Leach) wings 
four, covered with scales, tongue spiral, filiform. Linnaeus divid- 
ed this order into three generations, pa^^Yeo (butterfly), sphinx 
(hawk-moth) and plialmna (moth), which were characterized 
by the form of their antennas. Genus Phalaena, antennae 
moniliform, shorter than thorax, palpi very small and very 
hairy. Wings elliptic, equal, long. To this genus belongs 
the group agrotididcB, the larvae of which lies concealed in the 
ground, and feed by night (as the cut-worm) ; and the group, 



158 COTTON planter's manual. 

mamestradc2, the larvse of whicli lives exposed, and transform 
in the ground, as tlie cabbage caterpillar. The insect I will 
call Phalsena Zea (corn-moth) until it is more correctly class- 
ed, belongs, perhaps, to the latter group. 

The P. Zea, or corn-moth, is of a pale yellow or a shining 
ash color — length of body and wings one and one-eighth of an 
inch, the wings expand two inches horizontal, the upper wings 
covering the lower ; below the centre and near the border of 
the upper wings, are two dark spots; there are some two or 
three indistinct ones on each upper wing, end of the wing 
whitish, a wavy dark band near the border. Thorax slightly 
convex, downy ; abdomen color of wings, downy ; proboscis 
folded spirally underneath, double, half-inch long ; eyes large, 
clear, yellowish green. Legs six, antennae fusiform, palpi 
very hairy, flies only late in the evening and at night, lies 
concealed in the day in jams of the fence, around stumps, and 
in the grass and weeds, flies rapid and low. 

The Maize Phalsena pairs with its mate as soon as found 
(some insects of this order have a remarkable instinct that 
way) ; the moth lays about t50 eggs, on the fourth day, 
about the size of cabbage seed, of light cream color, and dies 
in three or four days afterwards. The moth sucks the nectar 
from the bloom, or rather between the calyx and petals. In 
confinement, they will suck water sweetened with sugar. The 
eggs of the first brood are laid on the silks of corn ; if no silks, 
on the top of the corn ; you may very often find them in the 
northern corn we plant for early roasting ears. The ova or 
6gg will hatch in two or three da3^s. The larvae feeds upon the 
silk and the grains of the corn, remains in the ear for fourteen 
days, comes out and goes into the earth about three inches, 
and is transformed into a chrysalis of bright, shining mahog- 
any color, conical in shape, seven-eighths to one inch in length; 
it remains in the ground from fourteen to sixteen days, when 



INSECT PHYSIOLOGY — THE BOLL- WORM. 159 

its second transformation takes place, and it comes out tlie 
moth I have above described. 

The second brood comes out from the 15th of July to 10th 
of August ; it now finds but little corn to go to (at least in its 
section of country), and necessity compels it to deposit their 
eggs on the cotton plant. Their eggs are laid on the top bud, 
and the bud of the end of the limbs; sometimes, when very 
numerous and late in the season, on the leaves promiscuously. 
If at the time of this deposit the weather is dry, and the sun 
very hot, the ova or egg becomes abortive. Hence the phrase, 
" no worms of a dry year." 

However, during the hottest and dryest season, enough will 
escape to do some damage. Thousands of the eggs and young 
larvae are destroyed by ants, and the ichneumopiiad^. The 
larva spins around it a thin web, when first hatched, for 
protection from ants and other enemies, and wiU swing itself 
by a thread, if it fall from your hand when first hatched, say 
five or six days old — sheds its skin until eight or ten days old 
— it descends from the tops of the cotton and the.ends of the 
limbs in two or three days after being hatched out, Degins its 
depredations on the forms by eating through the calyx in the 
petal (so small is the place that you can hardly discern it), 
which makes the bracts or floral leaf turn yellow, and the form 
falls off; the larva does not wait for this, but is off to another 
and to another, until it destroys four or five, when it comes to 
a boll into which it goes and lies concealed, if enough to feed 
on, until the usual time of its transformation. The caterpillar 
is sometimes killed by hot sun, while eating into a boll. 

If we have a short season, we will perhaps have but two 
broods. This is the case in Tennessee, and sometimes in 
North Alabama. The year 1848, I made a good crop of cot- 
ton, but it was made after the disappearance of the caterpillar. 
I cannot account for their disappearance, for the season was 



160 COTTON planter's manual. 

favorable. Tliey may have been destroyed by some of the 
ichneumoniadae family, perhaps the white oblong dots we saw 
on them. I never saw them on first brood or their eggs. 
But this is all hypothesis. 

Another reason why they do not damage the Tennessee 
planter so mncb is, that he plants and grows corn all the 
season, and the motb lays her eggs on corn in preference 
to cotton. We will see the difference between two broods 
and three. Say you have 200 moths to come out, one-half 
are males : we take 100 females at 700 eggs each, say 
70,000 caterpillars the- first generation ; 24,500,000 the second ; 
now sum them up to the third, deducting half for males, and 
we have the enormous sum of (if I have not miscalculated) 
8,575,000,000. This insect hybernates in the chrysalis state 
in the ground. 

The larva or caterpillar, when full-grown, will measure 
from one and one-half to one and three-quarter inches in 
length, it looks to a superficial observer brown, pale yellow 
and light green, though it has eight longitudinal streaks of 
wliite, brown and green, with one or two dots on each seg- 
ment of the body along the lowest streak ; it is smooth, shin- 
ing, naked, with a few hairs on each segment of the body. 
They are of a cylindrical form, tapering a little at each end, 
rather thick in proportion to their length, legs six before, 
eight central, and two anal. Head brown, smaller than body, 
oval. I know of no effectual means of preventing the ravages 
of this insect, but that the remedy is worse than the disease. 
Now, if we were to plant no corn {zea mays), we might get 
entirely clear, perhaps, of this insect ; but more anon. 
Jackson, Miss., July, 1850. JOHN W. BODDIE. 



CUT-WORMS. 161 

SECTION IV. — CUT-WORMS. 
From the Southern (La.) Mirror. 

In to-day's paper we publisli a communication from Col. D. 
J, Fluker, upon a subject of great interest and importance to 
southern agriculturists. Col. Fluker is one of the most scien- 
tific and experienced planters in the State, and no man is more 
capable of investigating agricultural subjects than he. His 
opinions will cany with them great weight and influence ; and 
he will secure the thanks of the community for his assiduous 
labors in so useful a cause as affording protection to that fragile 
and delicate but wonderful shrub — the almighty cotton. 

East Feliciana, July 3, 1850. 
Mr, Editor: — I have learned through the press, and other 
sources, that the cut-worm has done irreparable injury to the 
cotton plant this spring, and is still at work on some planta- 
tions in the parish. Until this season, I have uniformly been 
an extreme sufferer whenever they appeared in the country — 
never escaped before ; but, fortunately^ for me, they have been 
" few and far between," so far, doing my plants no harm. I 
think the cotton is now too large for them. It has been my 
study, for some years, to destroy or escape these worms; 
finally, for the first time, last year I adopted the plan of burn- 
ing off cotton and corn stalks, grass, and in fact everything 
combustible upon the field, in order to furnish as much ashes 
as possible to the land generally, knowing they are not fond 
of ashes or lime. This may have been some benefit ; but I 
rely mostly on late ploughing — leaving the cotton land for the 
last, and breaking it up deep with two horses, just upon plant- 
ing, say 1st of April ; thereby destroying millions of these 
worms whilst they were generating. By more early breaking 



162 COTTON plaintepJs manual. 

up, they can remain under the cotton ridge, and have suiBcient 
time to breed an army before the 3^oung plant can possibly 
grow out of their reach. As a proof of this position, the few 
discovered in my field were of very small size. My cotton 
crop was planted between the 5th and 15th of April, consider- 
ably later than I usually plant. I do not, however, presume 
that the late planting could have had much to do with it, 
because the cut- worm is said to be worse upon the replant 
of May than the older stalks. I leave practical men to draw 
their own conclusions; still I must cling to mine, that it was 
the late ridging up of my land which saved me from the cut- 
worm this year. 

If the publication of these hints, hastily thrown together, 
will have a tendency to relieve the cotton planter, in 1851, 
from the ravages of this vile enemy of our great staple, I shall 
be gratified ; and you, Mr. Editor, will have done the State 
some service, for the lot of the Louisiana cotton grower is a 
hard one, God knows. 

Respectfully, 

D. J. FLUKER. 



SECTION Y. — DESTROYING THE COTTON-MOTH. 

Mr. Editor : — After having nearly lost three or four crops 
of cotton by the ravages of the worm, men who heretofore 
have talked as if they believed that the constitution of this 
world was something like a system of optionism, or that the 
farmer had nothing to do but plant, and keep the grass and 
weeds down, and he had done all that was in his power, now 
talk on the subject as though they believed that the Creator 
had bestowed on them faculties to observe and trace cause and 
effect. They manifest not only a f^trong spirit toward improv- 



DESTROYING THE COTTON-MOTH. 163 

ing their farms, in making tbem more productive ,• but they 
think they can do something toward checking the advance- 
ment of that enemy that has proved so injurious to the South. 
Men who have been opposed to everything like an inter- 
change of opinion, through the press, in relation to farming, 
and who have been read}^ to pronounce everything that is new, 
either as a humbug or Utopian, are now busily engaged in 
catching flies; and it appears they will have no contentment 
until the whole fly family is entirely exterminated. And pro- 
bably it will not be uninteresting to some of your readers, if 
not profitable, to give you the modus operandi how this thing 
is done ; but as regards the effect that it will have, that is a 
subject on which I am non-committal. 

We make a mixture of molasses and vinegar, and put it in 
plates sufiiciently deep to hold the flies after they are caught. 
Some add a little cobalt ; but I don't know that they succeed 
any better than the others. The plates are placed about over 
the field, on stakes about the height of the cotton, with boards 
nailed on their top ends, large enough to set the plates on. 
The flies are attracted to those plates by the scent of the mix- 
ture, and are entrapped. I have, with eighty plates, averaged 
over 1,000 flies the night, and have taken as many as 45 and 
50 from a plate in the morning, that were caught the previous 
night. I have heard of some persons taking as many as 70 
from a plate in the morning, that were caught the night before. 
There ought to be one plate to each acre of cotton, though I 
know of no one who has them so thick. 

Another way that some are attempting to destroy them, is 
by striking them down with paddles, their whole force being 
employed in that way morniugs and evenings. If it is a fact 
that the moth (which some doubt now, I believe,) deposits her 
^^^ on the cotton, which makes the worm ; then it looks rea- 
sonable that, by destroying the flies, the number of worms must 



164 COTTON PLANTERS MANUAL. 

be lessened : tliougli I am inclined to believe that the dry 
weather we have now will be of more advantage in that re- 
spect than everything else beside. The flies are very abun- 
dant, though I have heard no complaint of the worm. We 
can't make a large crop in this region, even if we have no 
Avorms, for three reasons : it is backward, — the weed is un- 
usually small, — and there are generally bad stands. 

I am sorry to inform you that not one of the India cotton 
seed that I received from the Patent Office, came up ; the 
most of them, I think, were rotten. A few, however, had the 
appearance of being sound, but were too dry to vegetate. 

Respectfully yours, 

Sumterville, Ala., August, 1850. J. R. D. 



SECTION YL — THE BOLL-WORM AND 

Messrs. Editors : — There has been a great deal said 
among planters as to means for the destruction of the boll- 
worm (which is given up to be the greatest evil cotton is 
heir to), but not much do7ie. The means are within the reach 
of every planter, if he was apprised of it. If the plan that I 
will* lay before you is not effectual, you may take my hat, 
though a *' shocking bad one." In the spring of 1849, my 
pigs, between thirty and forty in number, ran through into 
my cotton field. I determined to veto it on seeing any depre- 
dations committed by them ; but, to my astonishment, they 
devoured grass, tie-vines, weeds, purslain, &c., and, making 
diligent search after cut-worm.s, destroyed them entirely. 
Tlie result was, they were in high keeping, and few, if any, 
boll-worms followed. This forced upon me the conclusion, 
that all worms that prey upon the cotton plant are of the 
same origin. Every observing mind is aware that the insect 



THE BOLL-WORM AND " SORE SHIN " IN COTTON. 165 

tribe is undergoing a constant change — hence, the cut-worm 
is changed to the moth ; the moth deposits its eggs upon the 
plant, and, by the warmth of the sun, thej come forth worms, 
somewhat different from the cut-worm in form and size. The 
cotton plant, at this stage, being rather tough for them, they 
attack the tender forms and pods, hence the appellation boll- 
worm. I should have tried the experiment farther, but hav- 
ing, since 1849, planted corn in my cotton, I could not allow 
my pigs that liberty, as there can be no agreement made with 
pigs not to molest the corn. I am trying the plan this season, 
and we shall see what we shall see. 

Messrs. Editors, if my theory be correct, strike at the foun- 
tain head, destroy the parent worm, and you destroy genera- 
tions to come. Turn in your pigs, and, my word for it, but 
few worms will be left. But little tutoring will attach them 
to the field. The mass of planters require a remedy, without 
money and without price ; and, as a dose to a large field, I 
recommend a large number of pigs — a small field, a small 
number, &c. 

The sore shin has been very destructive to our stands of 
cotton this season ; the cause of which, I think, is not gene- 
rally understood by planters. The sore shin is confined to 
poor land, more particularly to poor sandy hills. My opinion 
is, that it is occasioned by lice on the leaf of the plant, which 
runs to a disease. It is admitted by all botanists that the 
leaf is the lung of the plant, to take up the gases, and prepare 
the sap to return to the trunk or stem. Too much rain pro- 
duces lice upon the leaf, which obstructs the laws of nature — 
the leaf cannot return true sap, consequently the trunk perish- 
etli. In like manner disease the lungs of man, and the trunk 
will likewise perish. It is confined to poor ridges, because it 
is slow in growth, and more subject to disease — less vigorous 
than that on rich land. Lice never produce sore shin after 



166 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

the plant obtains a great many leaves. Lice only attack the 
top and upper limbs : the remaining leaves are ample to sup- 
port the plant. Some contend that it is the effects of a bruise, 
or cut with the hoe. If such be the case, why is it confined 
to hills and poor places ? I have often seen wounded stalks 
occasioned from the hoe. The effect is quite different, and does 
not come under the head of sore shin. I think manuring the 
places subject to lice, and thorough tillage, will obviate the cause. 

I am pleased to see, on the part of some of your correspond- 
ents, a disposition to withdraw the firebrand from the camp, 
I know of many who could, and perhaps would, impart much 
useful and practical information to the columns of the Culti- 
vator, did they not expect to be taken off by the crabbed pens 
of " crusty" critics. 

Yours, truly, 

Amite Co., Miss., July, 1853. HEBRON. 



SECTION VIL — BIRDS VERSUS INSECTS. 

The late Dr. Harris, who was well known for his entomo- 
logical researches, held the following sentiments respecting 
birds and insects : 

" In order to aid in checking the ravages of noxious insects, 
protection should be given to their natural enemies. To this 
end, a stop should be put to the indiscriminate and prevailing 
slaughter of insect-eating birds and quadrupeds by the mur- 
derous gun. Those persons who now waste their time and 
powder in killing these innocent and nseful creatures, would 
be better employed in planting corn and trees, and in making 
two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before. 
Your wood-peckers have already shown themselves to be your 
friends ; let them have all due encouragement." 



ANOTHER PLEA FOR THE BIRDS. 167 



SECTION VIII. — ANOTHER PLEA FOR THE BIRDS. 

The following interesting passages are from a paper read 
by Mr. Townsend Glover, before the late meeting of tlie 
United States Agricultural Society, and published in the 
Washington National Intelligencer : 

" Here, however, let me change the subject, to put in a 
plea for mischievous birds, which appear to have been sent to 
keep the ' balance of power' in insect life, which insects would 
otherwise multiply to such a degree as to be perfectly un- 
bearable, and render the agriculturist's toil entirely useless. 
A farmer keeps a watch-dog to guard his premises, and cats 
to kill rats and mice in his granary and barn ; yet he suffers 
an 'unfeathered biped' to tear down his rails, in order to get a 
chance shot at a robin, wren, or blue-bird, which may be un- 
fortunate enough to be on his premises ; and yet these very 
birds do him more good than either dog or cat, working dili- 
gently from morn to dark, and killing and destroying insects 
injurious to his crops, which, if not thus thinned out, would 
eventually multiply to such an extent as to leave him scarcely 
any crop whatsoever, 

'* Birds are accused of eating cherries and other fruits. 
True ; but the poor birds merely take a tithe of the fruit to 
pay for the tree, which, but for their unceasing efforts, would 
otherwise probably have been killed in its infancy. To ex- 
emplify the utility of birds, I will give one or two instances 
that have occurred under my own observation. Some years 
ago, I took a fancy to keep beep : accordingly, hives were 
procured, and books read upon the subject. One day a king- 
bird, or bee-martin was observed to be very busy about the 
hives, apparently snapping up every straggling bee he could 
find. Indignant at such a breach of hospitality, as his nest 



168 COTTON planter's manual. 

was on tlie premises, I hastened to the house to procure a gun 
to shoot the marauder. "When I returned, I perceived a gray- 
ish bird on the bushy top of a tree, and, thinking it was the 
robber, I fired, and down dropped a poor, innocent Phoebe 
bird. 

*' Hoping to find some consolation to my conscience, for 
having committed this most foul murder, I inwardly accused 
the poor little Phoebe of having also killed the bees ; and, 
having determined to ascertain the fact by dissecting the bird, 
it was opened, when, much to my regret and astonishment, 
it was found to be full of the striped cucumber bugs, and not 
one single bee. Here I had killed the very bird that had 
been working for me the whole season, and perfectly innocent 
of the crime for which it was sacrificed. After the circum- 
stance, I determined to never let a gun be fired on the prem- 
ises, excepting on special occasions ; and at present the place 
is perfectly crowded during spring, summer and autumn, with 
the feathered songsters, which build their nests even in my 
very porch, and bring up their young perfectly fearless of 
mankind ; and although cherries, strawberries, &c., do suffer, 
yet the insects are not a quarter as numerous and troublesome 
as they were formerly. 

" In the southern States, I have seen the bee-martin chase 
and capture a boll-worm moth, not ten paces from where I 
stood, and the mocking-bird feeding its nearly grown young 
on the same insect. Even the ugly toad works for the farmer 
and gardener, as his food consists of insects more or less in- 
jurious. The beautiful and lively green and gray lizards of 
the southern States, which are seen running on the fence-rail, 
or amidst the green foliage of trees, shrubs and bushes, and 
from which they can scarcely be distinguished except when 
in motion, are ever on the watch for insect prey ; and I know 
of one curious case in which even the mice in the green-house 



RED RUST AND BROWN RUST. 169 

were of service, for they had rooted up the earth round seve- 
ral potted peach trees, in order to devour the chrysalis of the 
peach-tree borer." 



SECTION IX. — RED RUST AND BROWN RUST. 

From the Columbia (S. C.) Planter. 

Dear Sir : — I feel ashamed of not having yet complied 
with your request, that I should send you a treatise on the 
manufacture, application and effect of manure. I will, how- 
ever, compromise with my conscience, by promising to do so 
in a week or two. The fact is, I am so conscious of devoting 
less attention and labor to that department of plantation 
economy, than its importance demands, that I feel a repug- 
nance to seeing my deficiency formally and mathematically 
computed. My present impulse is to discourse on the inex- 
plicable subject of rust in cotton, and I will not thwart it. 

In this section of country, we have two species of rust — the 
red or common rust, and the brown or French. I cannot 
give you the derivation of the latter term, but it is of general 
prevalence in this neighborhood. The red rust is that to 
which all varieties of land in this district are more or less liable ; 
and the brown rust, or French, that which is only found on 
black-jack soils, and on the flat lands of the description of those 
on Dutchman's and Wateree creeks. 

As Humbug jr. affirms, many theories have been adduced 
to account for the origin of the red rust, the partizans of each 
believing firmly in his own favorite, and denouncing those of 
others ; and he accordingly treats as an absurdity, a creed of 
mine, which I consider I have incontestibly proven by an ex- 
perience of nine years. 
8 



170 COTTOX planter's manual. ■ 

I commenced to till my present lands, and at tlie same time 
to cultivate the short staple-cotton, nine years ago, under the 
tutorage of an observant, experienced, and skilful overseer. 
In the early part of the summer, he remarked to me, that we 
should have to keep our cotton fields free of poke-weeds and 
briars, if we meant to escape rust. This being a new idea to 
me, I of course ridiculed it, and so unmercifully too, that, as 
he afterwards told me, he forthwith determined that I should 
purchase belief by expensive experience. Accordingly, to- 
wards fall, he carried me to three several spots of rust, in as 
many different fields, which he had contrived to produce by 
leaving poke-stalks in or around stumps, which happened to 
be there located. They were the only spots of rust I had in 
my crop, and from every other portion of it, had the poke 
been carefully eradicated. This coincidence staggered me, 
and its repetition for nine consecutive years, has confirmed 
my faith. 

In riding by the fields of my neighbors, I have seen poke- 
stalks suffered to grow among the cotton, and have predicted 
to a companion (correctly, as it was proven,) that rust would 
be the consequence. On the other hand, I have first seen 
rust, and on searching for it, have found poke. 

I do not say that rust may not originate without the pres- 
ence of poke ; nor do I believe that, like the celebrated upas 
tree, it exudes poison, deleterious to surrounding vegetation ; 
but simply that poke, briars, strawberries, and perhaps other 
plants, are more liable to the disease than. cotton ; and having 
first become affected, communicate the disorder to their more 
healthy neighbor. Where poke has been repeatedly cut down 
in the early part of the season, and is suffered to grow at a 
late date, I believe it is harmless ; for it does not appear to 
be liable to the disease till it has reached maturity, and com- 
menced to decline. 



RED RUST AND BROWN RUST. 171 

A friend of mine spent a part of the last summer in this 
vicinity, and occasionally delighted me with a visit. At our 
first interview, he began, in unmeasured terms, to denounce 
the folly and superstition of " some ignorant citizens of the 
district," in believing that poke could produce rust. Like St. 
Peter, I was at first ashamed to confess my faith in so despised 
a doctrine, and, if I did not deny, certainly did not avoAV that 
I was a disciple. At each subsequent interview, I was grati- 
fied to observe that the opposition of my friend was melting 
away under the influence of accumulating proof, till at length, 
when I rallied and came to the rescue, his offensive w^arfare 
degenerated into mere defence of his doubts, and he finally 
determined to risk his remaining strength upon the issue of a 
single experiment, an opportunity for which then presented 
itself In the midst of a large, healthy, flourishing field of 
cotton, he saw a small spot of rust, and he determined to sur- 
render at discretion, if in the centre he should find poke- 
weed. The poke was found, and he acknowledged himself a 
convert. 

I may properly close what I have said of red rust, by stat- 
ing, as a corollary, that though we do not know what pro- 
duces it, in poke or cotton, nevertheless, if poke, briars, &c., 
are more liable to the disease than cotton, and can communi- 
cate it, it is wise not to suff'er them to take root in our fields. 
We know not the cause of the origin of yellow fever or small- 
pox, yet we know that they are communicable and infectious, 
and avoid persons and places suspected of being tainted with 
their influence. 

Of the French or brown rust, though I suffer from its effects, 
I have very little to say. Some people have attributed it to 
the presence of iron in the soil, in some of its chemical forms. 
Others (and I am among them), believe that it is caused by 
an undue proportion of lime in the soil, causing the plant to 



172 COTTON planter's manual. 

scald under tLe superadded influence of heat and water. I 
once saw the late Dr. James Davis, of Columbia, analyze soil 
taken indiscriminately from the land that is liable to the 
French, and the result was seven and a-half per cent, of carb. 
of lime. Now, this is certainly a much stronger proportion 
than even three hundred bushels of rich marl would give uni- 
formly to the whole mass of an acre of soil, if thoroughly 
amalgamated with it. The flat creek lands, upon which this 
disease prevails, are not the alluvial bottoms ; these are of a 
distinct character from the former, which lie between them 
and the sandy ridge. 

I have found that late ploughing promotes the French, and 
that compost manure is the best preventive. 

Yours, very respectfully, 

Fairfield, August 30, 1843. FAEMINGTON. 



SECTION X. — "blue COTTON." 

Gentlemen ; — I have been a subscriber to the Cultivator 
for the past year, and have just forwarded to you, through the 
Postmaster, the amount of subscription for another copy, the 
receipt of which you will acknowledge by sending me the 
first number for 1844. 

How does it happen that I have never, to my recollection, 
seen in your paper a single paragraph in relation to Sea Island 
cotton 1 Can it be that you have so few patrons on the sea- 
board, or that they send you no communications ? I have 
waited patiently myself for such, and perhaps others have 
done the same, from the same motive. Our lands yield in 
value a large portion of our exports, and it is a matter of con- 
siderable interest, to our small number at least, to give and 
receive information on that subject ; and, although I am by 



173 

no means an adept in the culture of the long staple, I might 
occasionallj throw out a hint which might be extended and 
improved upon by others more capable than myself. But to 
the object of this communication : We have large portions of 
land on the main, adjoining our salt-water rivers and inlets, 
such as live oak flats, &c., which produce what is termed, in 
our fraternity, Blue Cotton, from, I presume, the blueish cast 
of the plant. These lands are very rich, and produce fine 
crops of corn, but so far as I am acquainted, there has been 
no remedy applied for Blue Cotton, which they almost inva- 
riably produce. By this term we mean such cotton as comes 
up and grows very luxuriantly, without any fruit, reaching 
at times the height of eight or ten feet, having large leaves, 
with crimped edges, and of a deep lead color, so much so that 
a spot in the field may be recognised as far as the plant can 
be distinguished. At other times, depending perhaps on a 
very wet season, the plant, after growing several feet, and 
bearing well, sheds all its fruit and becomes blue. 

This is a serious difficulty with our strong lands, and I hope 
among your many readers, some one may be able to suggest 
a remedy for the evil. It has been generally supposed among 
us, that land containing a large quantity of iron would have 
this effect — why, I know not ; but if such is the fact, it ap- 
pears to me that lime would be a good application, and it is 
my intention to try it. The chemical action of lime on the 
organic substances of which our strong low flats and swamps 
contain a great deal, is very considerable, and this is not only 
in reference to vegetable remains, but it acts with equal 
energy upon the dead and living animal matter. Its opera- 
tion, therefore, may effect a change in the production of the 
plant. Besides, if the soil contains sulphate of iron, this 
is decomposed by the lime, which, uniting with its sulphuric 
acid, forms the sulphate of lime, which is commonly called 



174 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL, 

gypsum, and wliich is universally admitted to be a great fer- 
tilizer of the soil. Now the question is, will this chemical 
process have the effect of changing those matters in the soil 
which cause our cotton to turn hlue. Experience, of course, 
will be our surest guide on this subject, but it would be deeply 
interesting to read the views of some of your learned corres- 
pondents in relation to it. 

Respectfully, &c., 
Bryan County, January 1, 1844. AGEICOLA. 

P. S. I have been using, for some time, the plough in the 
cultivation of the Sea Island cotton, with advantage, and I 
intend, this year, further to facilitate my work by the side- 
harrow and the cultivator. Be good enough tq say, in your 
next number, if I can obtain the latter implement in Augusta, 
whose make, at what cost, and whether they will answer 
between beds four and a-half feet apart. They ought to be 
made so as to be moved for a greater or less distance. 



SECTION XI. — THE DRY ROT IN COTTON 

Editors Southern Cultivator: — Permit me, in behalf 
of myself and neighbors, to make known the existence of a 
disease in our cotton to a much greater extent than ever be- 
fore known by us, called the '' dry rot," and ask you some 
questions as to the probable cause. 

The disease we speak of attacks the top bolls. The seed 
and lint first rot and turn black ; then a sore or scab appears, 
resembling a puncture with a sharp instrument. This extends 
quite over the surface of the boll, and very frequently — after 
the disease has taken possession of the whole pod — it opens 
its prongs and presents a thoroughly rotten state in all its 
parts. So far as the writer's observation extends, it is most 



THE DRY ROT IN COTTON. 175 

injiirious to sandy soils, and on these it appears most malig- 
nant in' those fields wliich have been longest in cultivation. 
It is seen, however, in places where the lands have been well 
manured and cultivated. I am informed the lime or cane 
brake lands are suffering to some extent with it. 

In this vicinity, it is felt as a serious drawback on our crops 
from one hundred to three hundred pounds per acre, all of our 
crops will suffer from it, and this after the bolls seemed to 
have matured. Hence, we have conversed on the subject a 
good deal, and the writer has concluded to call your attention 
to it, and ask, if the cause is known to yourself or older plant- 
ers than we are. The specific inquiry or inquiries we would 
ask of your better judgment, are, whether this rot is probably 
caused by peculiarity of soil ? Or, is it the result of the sea- 
sons (these have of late been uniform) ? Or the mode of 
cultivation ; has this influenced it ? Is there any reason to 
credit the conjecture that one variety of cotton is more liable 
than another to this disease 1 This year the rot is doing so 
much harm to our cotton as to call for examination and reme- 
dy, and if it should increase its ravages from year to year, it 
would be felt as a serious evil. 

I hope the readers of the Cultivator, as well as yourselves, 
will give attention to the subject — all planters are interested, 
at least in one point, and that is as the extent of the injury. 
Very respectfully, I subscribe myself. 

Alabama, October, 1855. BEAVER BEND. 



If the cotton plant should suffer as much from premature 
decay, in the course of a few years, as the potato plant has, 
the occurrence will not surprise us. Gangren^, whether '« dry" 
or otherwise, in vegetable and animal tissues, arises commonly 
either from the weakening of vital force by improper nourish- 



176. COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

ment, tlie presence of a poisonous substance, or from some 
unknown constitutional defect. The source of " canker," 
Avliicli attacks fruits and fruit trees, — of tlie potato rot, and 
the rot in the seed and lint of cotton,— is involved in great 
obscurity. Whatever may be the primary exciting cause either 
of the premature extinction of life in the parts affected, and 
of their rapid dissolution, the warmth and humidity of the sur- 
roimding atmosphere may be such as to favor the destructive 
increase of the malady. All living beings are creatures of 
circumstances, with many of which the wisest are yet un- 
acquainted. We know that inflamed flesh is apt to mortify; 
and that the dead limbs of a man, like those of a tree, may 
even drop off by purely vital and chemical processes. Nature 
has many secrets in vegetable and animal life and death, that 
human science may never penetrate nor reveal. But this fact 
should not prevent our studying all the phenomena of vitality, 
as displayed in ultivated plants and domesticated animals. 
English farmers find it impossible to grow common red clover 
on land where this plant has flourished for a half century, 
Avithout being able to assign any good reason for the fact that 
the soil is now *' clover sick." A change of crops, in all such 
cases, has been the best remedy, where others failed. The 
fastest horses, with the largest constitutional resources, may 
be broken down by over work ; and why may not the vital 
resources of the cotton plant be over tasked by those who seem 
willing to drive cotton culture as one drives a free horse, till 
he falls dead and rots ? 

The over-feeding of an animal is a poor remedy for pushing 
him beyond his natural powers of endurance ; and, by a parity 
of reasoning, to surcharge the vessels and cells of a plant with 
liquid manure, is not a proper preventive of " rot," in its sound 
or diseased system. Potatoes rot most, Avhen thus treated. 

According to our ideas, diseases in vital organs and functions 



THE DRY ROT IN COTTON. 177 

are seldom viewed so philosopliically as the present advanced 
state of physiological science renders practicable. If we were 
to say that the earth and climates, including air and water, 
produce murrain in cattle far more in some localities than in 
others, as similar elements of disease produce bilious affections 
in the human family, the true sources of these well-known 
maladies would be but poorly explained. Unquestionably, 
many causes often cooperate to weaken the vital principle in 
plants and animals ; and the early death and dissolution of a 
single cell in the fruit of a cotton plant, are doubtless sufficient 
to bring on the chemical disorganization of the whole boll, if 
not of the whole plant. The rotting or decay of every tissue 
is purely a chemical process, however this disorganizing ope- 
ration may have originated. 

If we have read the agricultural literature of civilized na- 
tions aright, such diseases as the blight on pear trees, the 
premature rotting of apples, potatoes, and other vegetables, 
and the rot in cotton, are not likely to diminish in the aggre- 
gate, until farmers know more of the laws of nature, and of the 
true principles of farm economy, than they now do. They 
cannot systematically obey laws of which they know little or 
nothing. So long as farmers in Western New York raised po- 
tatoes on fresh virgin soils, they were exempt from the potato 
rot as a prevailing distemper ; and we fear that, as cotton is 
cultivated year after year on the gradually deteriorated lands 
of the South, there is no strength of vitality in this weed to 
protect it, indefinitely, from constitutional deterioration, and 
its natural conseq[uences. 

In an excellent article on *' Cotton culture, and selection of 
Seed," in our last issue, Mr. A. W. Washburn, of Yazoo, Miss., 
says that his crop averages a bale of cotton of 400 lbs. to the 
acre, although he plants " on prairie land twenty-five years 
under hard cultivation, without manure." He makes ten bales 



178 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

to the liand, and probably is not at all injured by the rot. 
Such facts speak well for the natural resources of his soil ; but 
''hard cultivation" for twenty -five or thirty years more with- 
out manure, may so change the physical and chemical proper- 
ties of this land as to weaken the cotton plants which grow 
therein; and their seed, planted in districts where the rot 
prevails, will yield crops equally subject to the malady. If 
our cotton rotted, as described by "Beaver Bend," in our last 
number, we should grow, or obtain from another, seed pro- 
duced on fresh land to plant hereafter. The land on which 
cotton is to be cultivated, should be ploughed an inch or two 
deeper than usual, to give the growing plants the benefit of a 
better pasture in fresh earth. The subsoil is often full of 
virgin, fertilizing resources, which superficial, shallow tillage 
never reaches. There is a striking analogy between the 
healthy pasturage of domesticated plants and domesticated 
animals. If unchanged into new and fresh pastures, cattle 
soon eat down, and finally kill out those nutritious grasses and 
herbs best adapted to form pure blood, sound flesh, nerves and 
bones. They may still subsist, and propagate their kind for 
several generations ; but under far less favorable circumstan- 
ces, and more subject to casualities. The over- cropping of 
their land is a similar folly. It parts with some element of 
vegetable nutrition, unseen and unappreciated by the cultivator 
and there is left to him a disordered soil, yielding cotton plants 
of unnatural, unsound growth, which Nature disowns, vitality 
deserts, and chemical laws speedily resolve into their original 
elements. As every thing that lives, decays or " rots " sooner 
or later, it is a question of time and circumstance, \ohen and 
how this final result shall be attained. A reasonable supply 
of potash in the soil is known to promote the healthy growth 
of the woody fibre in plants, (which forms the lint of cotton, 
and a part of its seed,) and also favors the perfect organization 



ROT IN COTTON. 179 

of starch, sugar, oil, and the so-called protean compounds; 
therefore let wood ashes be applied to the " sandy land " where 
cotton rots. 

It is an unwise, a bad system of cultivation, that makes so 
many old and deserted fields in the cotton-growing States. 
Nature never gets tired of growing crops of forest trees, even 
on the very poorest lands of the South. This fact is full of 
instruction. Man wantonly violates hor laws, and disease, in 
a thousand forms, is sent to chastise him into better conduct. 
How far Providence will punish the impoverishment of arable 
lands, we have all yet to learn. It will, however, be sufficient 
to compel a reform in our present system of tillage and hus- 
bandry. If one degree of rot, of " murrain," or other calamity, 
is insufficient to bring us back to the straight and narrow path 
of agricultural duty, another, and still another degree of chas- 
tisement will be added, until, penitent and willing to obey the 
laws of his Creator, man will properly feed the land that both 
feeds and clothes him. L. 



SECTION XI. — ROT IN COTTON. 

We copy the following from the Liberty (Miss.) Advocate, 
of a recent date : 

Mr. Forsythe : — In a former communication, I alluded 
to the rot in cotton, which when properly considered, deserves 
more than a passing notice. Millions of inhabitants are de- 
pendent upon the culture and manufacture of the great south- 
ern staple for employment. The disease does not affect the 
northern producers, when they can obtain enormous prices for 
their produce, or the manufacturer, when they can buy our 
staple for a mere song— which is r|qt warranted by the proper 



180 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

statistics. In 1849, tlie manufacturing companies of Man- 
chester adopted the following resolution : 

^'Resolved, That v/e consider all reports relative to a short 
crop, such as overflows, worms, &c., altogether humbug." 
They are now raising the cry of large crops, in order to keep 
down the prices. I fear we have given them too much rope 
to take it up with ease, unless we make a long "pull, a strong 
pull, and a pull altogether. They are now like the negro's 
horse — have two good eyes, and won't see. It is fearful to 
contemplate, when we consider the ravages the disease is 
making upon the cotton plant, and so little said or done to 
remedy the evil. Let us take a retrospect of the cotton plant. 
When the Deity in his goodness gave our forefathers the 
virgin soil — with their rude agricultural implements — the old 
black seed to cultivate — which was so peculiarly adapted to 
his situation — when cotton gins were among the things un- 
cumbered, the pioneer, with his wife and his little ones, after 
their daily toil in gathering their cotton in, assembled around 
their pine-knot fire to disengage the seed from its linty fibre, 
whilst the mother and daughters converted it into yarn, to 
barter it for the necessaries of life. Thus time passed on, 
until the plant began to run out, and the rot made its appear- 
ance, which caused a new importation of seed, different from 
the black seed ; which caused arts and sciences to be put in 
motion to prepare it for market— then the disease disappeared. 

Time passed on, and no very great change was made in the 
seed, until Col. Abby, of Mastodon notoriety, made a fortune 
in a very short time by selling his seed at fifteen to twenty, 
and even fifty dollars per bushel, which went off like hot 
cakes— proved to be more valuable than the cotton itself 
There was a general stampede among the planters who should 
make the next fortune selling seed, and at the same time heap- 
ing denunciations upon the Colonel. By a little care in select- 



ROT IN COTTON. 181 

ing, and an improvement in name, we soon had a catalogue 
of names, sucli as Alvarado, Brown, Pitt, Willow, Hogan, 
Sugar Loaf, Silk, Vick's ]00-seed, and a host of others. 
Those that succeeded best in giving a big name, and puffing 
most, bore off the palm, and wore the title of Colonel, and 
even went farther — for instance, Gren. Mitchell's Prolific Pome- 
granate, &c. Each of the above varieties succeeded very 
well for two or three years, and then sank below par. All 
the notoriety was given to the variety, when half was entitled 
to a change of latitude. The different varieties have been 
mixed up so, until it has become corrupted, and the corruption 
has become epidemic. 

We are now where our forefathers were with the old black 
seed. Many of our old standard planters pronounced it iden- 
tically the old black rot. I have been a close observer of the 
disease since it made its appearance. It seems to be worse 
when we have a warm, cloudy spell of Aveather, of five or six 
days. Apparently all the bolls will mildew and rot in a few 
days; One would suppose that it was atmospheric. Not so. 
We had just such weather ten years ago, when the rot was 
not known. 

I see a certain M.D. has sent some beetles and diseased 
bolls to the Smithsonian Institution for examination. I cannot 
reconcile myself that it is the effect of insects. If it was, we 
would have had an immense quantity of it during the reign of 
the army-worm in 1846, and the boll-worm since. They 
stripped the foliage, cut the rind from the boll, punctured the 
pods, and even embedded themselves into them, yet they 
opened beautifully, and the disease was not known. 

A correspondent of the American Cotton Planter says it is 
caused from the want of new, healthy, and sufficient quantity 
of pabulum. I must beg to differ with him. Some of our old 
hills have suffered these many long years for a want of a suf- 



182 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

ficient quantity of healthy food, yet the rot did not appear. 
If any soil shall produce healthy pabulum, it should he fresh 
land. My experience is, the disease is a little worse on fresh 
land than old land. I cannot see why the disease has not 
made its appearance before now, if this theory is true. Many 
planters say, a change of seed a short distance is beneficial. 
In this I agree ; but I prefer a change from a northern latitude, 
and a district that is not infected, for the following reason : 
The best latitude for cotton has been considered that of Vicks- 
burg. The latitude has gradually been going further north. 
The crop of our country from 1840 to 1850, excelled, per acre, 
that of Yazoo or Holmes county. Since 1850, up to the 
present time, we have retrograded, while they have increased 
— the boll- worm has disappeared, and the rot is scarcely known. 
The picture is truly discouraging. We may obey the man- 
dates of the Scriptures, " What thou doest, do with all thy 
might," and yet be but little better off than " One that pro- 
videth not for his household," 

NEBRASKA. 



CHAPTER Y. 

ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT, WITH SUGGESTIONS 
AS TO MANURES, ETC. 



SEC. I.- 

1. Cotton Wool. 

One hundred parts weight of cotton wool, on being heated 
in a platina crucible, so long as brightly burning gas continued 
to be emitted, lost 86'09 parts — the residuum being a perfectly 
charred cotton, which, on being ignited under a muffle, until 
every particle of carbon was consumed, lost 12'985, and left 
almost a purely white ash, whose weight was rather under one 
per cent., or 0*9247. Of this ash, about forty-four per cent, 
was found to be soluble in water. It contained 12*88 per cent, 
sand, which must have been acquired adventitiously, in the 
of silicious process of harvesting the fibre. Deducting the sand 
from the ash, the constitution of the latter is as follows : 

Carbonate of Potassa (with possible traces of Soda), . 44*19 
Phosphate of Lime, with traces of Magnesia, . 25*44 

Carbonate of Lime, ..... 8*87 

Carbonate of Magnesia, . . . .6*85 

Silica, ....... 4-12 

Alumina (probably accidental), . . . 1*40 

Sulphate of Potassa, . . . . . 2*70 

Chloride of Potassium, 
Chloride of Magnesium, 
Sulphate of Lime, 
Phosphate of Potassa, 
Oxide Iron, in minute traces, 



''and loss, . . 6*43 



100*00 



[183] 



184 COTTON planter's manual. 

But, since it is obvious, that the carbonic acid in the above- 
mentioned salts must have been derived during the incinera- 
tion of the cotton, the following view will more certainly 
express the important mineral ingredients abstracted by the 
cotton from the soil, for every 100 parts of its ash : 

Potassa (with possible traces of Soda), . . . 31-09 

Lime, . . . . . . 17-05 

Magnesia, ...... 3-26 

Phosphoric Acid, . , . . . 12-30 

Sulphuric Acid, . . . . . .1-22 



64-92 



For every 10,000 lbs. of cotton wool, then, about sixty lbs. 
of the above-mentioned ingredients are subtracted from the 
soil, in the proportion indicated by the numbers appended, 
i. e., (omitting fractions:) 

Potassa, . . . . . .31 lbs. 

Lime, . . . . . . 17 " 

Magnesia, . . . . . . 3 " 

Phosphoric Acid, . . . . . 12 " 

Sulphuric Acid, . . . . . 1 " 

Several queries were submitted to me, along with the sample 
to be analyzed, relative to the effect of soils on cotton. I re- 
gret to state that the almost total ignorance in which we are 
still left, respecting the composition of the varieties of this 
fibre, and the soils producing them, prevents me from hazard- 
ing any explanations on the subject. This is the first destruc- 
tive analysis ever made (at least so far as my knowledge ex- 
tends) of the cotton wool, Nor am I acquainted with the 
properties of the soil which afforded it. Prior to any deduc- 
tions, it is clear we must know the composition of each variety 



ANALYSIS OF COTTOX VV^OOL AND SEED. 185 

of cotton, as well as that of the soil it affects. At present, I 
can onlj venture on connecting together two facts, which ap- 
pear to occupy important relations to one another. The soil 
of St. Stephens, which is said by F. A. Porcher, Esq., to be a 
stiff, clayey loam, produces the strongest and finest fibre of 
the Santee varieties. The Sea Island qualities are supposed 
to owe their superiority to the use of marsh-mud, which I have 
ascertained to be a clayey admixture, rich in alkalies and 
alkaline earths. Whether the similarity between these two 
staples is influenced most (if it is affected at all), by the 
chemical or mechanical qualities of the soils producing them, 
it is impossible to decide. It is also conceivable, that the two 
sets of qualities may conspire to one and the same end. 

2. Cotton Seed. 

One hundred parts, heated as above, lost 77'475, and the 
thoroughly charred residuum, burned under the muffle, left 
3*856 parts of a perfectly white ash. The composition was 
found to be as follows : 

Phosphate of Lime (with traces of Magnesia), . . 61-64 

Phosphate of Potassa (with traces of Soda), . 31*51 

Sulphate of Potassa, ..... 2*55 

Silica, ...... 1-74 

Carbonate of Lime, . . . . . '41 

Carbonate of Magnesia, . ... '26 

Carbonate of Potassium, . . . . '25 

Carbonate of Potassa, 
Sulphate of Lime, 
Sulphate of Magnesia, 
Alumina, and oxides of iron and 
manganese, in traces, 



- and loss, . . 1'64 



100-00 



186 COTTON planter's manual. 

In comparing the above table witli that afforded by the 
cotton wool, a marked dissimilarity presents itself. The ash 
of the cotton seed is four-fold that of the fibre ; while the for- 
mer has also treble the phosphoric acid possessed by the lat- 
ter, as will the more clearly appear, when we present the 
analysis under another form, corresponding with the second 
table under cotton wool : 

Phosphoric Acid, . . . • .45-85 

Lime, ...... 29-79 

Potassa, ...... 19-40 

Sulphuric Acid, . . . . . 1*16 



95-70 



From the foregoing analysis, it would appear difficult to 
imagine a vegetable compound better adapted for fertilizing 
land, than the cotton seed ; nor can we any longer be sur- 
prised at the well known fact, that soils long cropped with 
this staple, without a return to them of the inorganic matters 
withdrawn in the seed, become completely exhausted and un- 
productive. 



SECTION II. — ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED : 
WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO MANURES, ETC. 

The natural history of the cotton plant,* and improvement 
in its culture, in the cotton-growing States, are interesting 

* German, Kattonu-olle, BaumicoUe ; Dutch, Ketoen, Boomwol; Danish, 
Bomald; Swedish, BomiiZZ ; lih\iim, Cottone, Bomhagia ; Spanish, ^/^o- 
don; Portuguese, Algodno, Algodeiro ; Russian, Chlohts-chataza humaga; 
Polish, Bawelna ; Georgian, Bomba, Bamby ; Latin, Gossypium; Greek, 
Bombyx, Yylon ; Mongnl, Kobung ; Hindoo, Ruhi; Malay, Kapas ; Indian, 
Kopa; Chinese, Cay-Haung, Hoa-Micn. Skinner, the Etymologist, says, 



ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 187 

subjects. Originally the production of the tropics, it has, in 
our country, travelled far into the temperate region, and flour- 
ishes on a belt of several hundred miles wide ; extending from 
Virginia along the sea coast to our western limits on the Gulf 
of Mexico. Congeniality of climate, seasons and soils, has 
carried the cultivation of this plant, which is not certainly 
ascertained to have been indigenous to the United States, 
much further than it was at first expected it would ever be 
extended ; and it has become the staple of all those parts not 
actually mountainous in the southern States. Whilst its cul- 
ture has most rapidly advanced and increased in every sec- 
tion, the planters of the old cotton-growing States, from the 
exhaustion of their soils, and the lack of proper systems of 
rotation and manuring, have been thrown in the back 
ground in the scale of profitable production by their more 
favored rivals, the fortunate possessors of the virgin lands of 
the south-west. If this deficiency is ever to be remedied — 
if the fertility of those soils, worn out in the oft-repeated pro- 
duction of cotton, is ever to be restored, and permanently im- 
proved for the future culture of this crop, or for other systems 
of tillage, it must be done under a proper understanding of 
what constituents are to be restored to the soil, to supply the 
j)laces of those of which it has been robbed. How far a cor- 
rect analysis of the cotton plant and seed, will enable the 
present generation of planters to remedy the lack of fertility 
in their impoverished soils, and enhance their future produc- 
tiveness for this crop, it is difficult to determine ; but it is no 

that cotton is so called from its similitude to the down which adhered to 
the quince, malie cydoniis, which the Italians call cotogni, and cotoquy 
manifestly a cydonis. 

Gossypium, or cotton, a genus of the polyandria order, belonging to the 
monadelphia class of plants, and in the natural method of ranking, under 
the thirty-seventh order, Columniferge —Encyc. Britannia, vol. 8, p. 21. 



188 COTTON planter's manual. 

matter of speculation, to assert, that it is essentially necessary 
for the soil, for the cereal crops, that the past industrious de- 
spoiling of the natural elements, should furnish a guide for 
their restoration. The analytical investigations made by the 
author, and for their correctness receiving the sanction of 
Professor Von Liebig, the most celebrated chemist of the 
age, and given to the world in their present shape, are not in- 
tended as the basis of a new theory for the production of the 
cotton plant, but merely as suggestive of aids, and by return- 
ing to the soil what has been taken from it, bring about a res- 
toration of fertility, which will render its cultivation profitable 
to agriculturists in any other marketable crops. When, how- 
ever, we reflect that of the one thousand millions of pounds 
of cotton, produced in the world, upwards of five hundred and 
fifty millions of pounds are grown in the United States, we 
readily see that the importance of this crop — swelling to this 
enormous amount since 1784, when it was doubted at Liver- 
p(iol, that so much as eight hales could be produced in this 
country — demands all those scientific aids by which other 
nations have fostered their staple agricultural productions, 
and thereby contributed to national prosperity. England, by 
her commercial enterprise, assumed the pinnacle of national 
rank. The cotton plant, its productions and adaptation to 
human wants, by manufacturing skill, will give the blood to 
invigorate our prosperity. What a picture of prosperity would 
be presented, if we manufactured in South Carolina all the 
cotton grown in the State, and had sufficient commercial cap- 
ital and enterprise to concentrate the exportation and exchange 
of the manufactured material at our queen city, Charleston I 
Added to this, how much more pleasant would be the pros- 
pect ahead, if the cultivation of this crop was so regulated 
and earned out that it would fit the soil for the increased after- 
production of the grain crops — those crops so essential to the 
prosperity of the world ! 



ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 189 



Analysis of the Ash of the Cotton Plant. 

Qualitative Analysis. — A part of the ash was taken and 
boiled with distilled water, then filtered, the filtrate acidulated 
with nitric acid, and then treated with nitrate of silver, (AgO, 
NO5.) A white precipitate of chloride of silver was formed, 
showing the presence of chlorine. 

On adding muriatic acid to another part of the ash, an ef- 
fervescence took place_, showing the presence of carbonic 
acid. 

Another part of the ash was taken and dissolved in muri- 
atic acid, and evaporated to dryness ; then moistened with mu- 
riatic acid, and digested with water — a residue consisting of coal, 
sand and silica, remained insoluble. The presence of silicic acid 
was proved, by boiling the residue with potassa, (free of silicic 
acid) and evaporating the filtrate in the presence of muriatic 
acid, to dryness, then moistening with muriatic acid, and dis- 
solving with water, the silicic acid which remained insoluble. A 
portion of the liquid, freed from sand, coal, and silicic acid, 
was nearly neutralized with ammonia, when, upon the addition 
of acetate of soda, a white precipitate of phosphate of iron 
was formed. 

To a part of the liquid filtered from this precipitate, ammo- 
nia was added, which formed a white precipitate, showing 
that all the phosphoric acid was not in combination with iron. 

To another part of the liquid filtered from the precipitate 
of phosphate of iron, oxalate of ammonia was added, which 
formed a white precipitate of oxalate of lime. 

The liquid filtered from this precipitate gave, on the ad- 
dition of phosphate of soda and ammonia, a precipitate of 
phosphate of magnesia and ammonia, showing the presence 
of magnesia. 



190 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

Another part of the liquid, freed from sand, coal, and silicic 
acid, was boiled with an excess of baryta water, and filtered. 
The excess of barytes in the filtrate was removed by carbonate 
of ammonia and ammonia, and filtered — the filtrate was evapo- 
rated to dryness, and dissolved in a small quantity of water. A 
part of this solution was treated with bi-chloride of platinum ; 
a yellow crystalline precipitate was formed, showing the pres- 
ence of potassa. 

A part of the residue was tested with the blow-pipe for 
soda ; the presence of which was proved. 

A portion of the liquid, freed from sand and silica, was 
treated with chloride of barium ; a white precipitate of sul- 
phate of barytes was formed, showing the presence of 
sulphuric acid. 

Quantitative Analysis. — 6*181 grammes of the ash was di- 
gested with muriatic acid, and evaporated over a water bath 
to dryness. The residue was gently ignited, and moistened 
with muriatic acid, then let stand for half an hour, after which 
it was digested with water, and filtered upon a weighed filter. 
The coal, sand, &c., remained upon the filter, and was washed 
out with boiling .water, until, on evaporating a drop of the 
filtrate on the platina foil, no residue remained. 

The filter was now dried, and all the sand, coal, &c., care- 
fully separated, (in order not to damage the filter), after 
which, the substance which was on the filter was boiled with 
potassa in a platina basin over a water bath for one hour ; 
then filtered upon the same filter, washed out with distilled 
water, and dried at two hundred and twelve degrees, until it 
remained at a constant weight. After deducting the weight 
of the filter, there remained 0*621 grammes of sand and coal. 

The part soluble in potassa, was mixed with muriatic acid, 
(HCl,) and evaporated over a water bath to dryness; then 
ignited, and moistened with muriatic acid, (HCl,) and dis- 



ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 191 

solved in water, filtered and washed, then dried and burned. 
It weighed, after burning, 0-403 grammes, silicic acid, (SiOg.) 

The liquid filtered from the sand and silicic acid, (measured 
in a graduated tube,) was found to contain four hundred and 
eighty cubic centimetres, which was divided into three equal 
parts of one hundred and sixty cubic centimetres, each = 
2'060 grammes of the ash, for each one hundred and sixty 
cubic centimetres of the liquid. 

These three ^arts will be termed A, B and C 

In A, the phosphate of iron, lime and magnesia, were esti- 
mated. 

In B, the sulphuric acid, and the entire quantity of phos- 
phoric acid. 

In 0, the alkalies. 

A. 

The liquid A was nearly neutrahzed with ammonia, then 
acetate of soda and free acetic acid were added. The precip- 
itate was left standing for twenty-four hours, after which it 
was filtered, and washed out with boiling water, then dried and 
burned. It weighed 0"346 grammes, or, for the entire liquid, 
1-038 grammes of 2Fe,0,3P05, or 0*507 grammes of Fe^Oa 
(oxide of iron). 

The liquid filtered from the precipitate of phosphate of iron 
was treated with oxalate of ammonia. The precipitate of 
oxalate of lime, was filtered, washed, dried and burned. It 
weighed, after burning, 0'643 grammes of carbonate of lime, 
(OaOjCOi,) or for the entire liquid, 1-929 grammes of CaO,0o., 
= 1*092 grammes lime (OaO). 

The liquid filtered from the oxalate of lime, was evaporated 
over a water bath, to a smaller volume, then phosphate of soda 
and ammonia were added, and the precipitate left standing for 



192 COTTOX planter's manual. 

two days, after wlilcli it was filtered and washed out with 
- water containing one-eiglith of ammonia, and burned until it 
was white. It gave OSOl grammes of 2MgO, PO5 (pyro- 
phosphate of magnesia), or for the entire liquid, 0'903 grammes 
= 0-330 grammes MgO (magnesia). 

B. 

The solution B was precipitated while boiling with chloride 
of barium, and left standing on a sand-bath for twenty-four 
hours, then filtered and washed with boiling water, dried, and 
burned. It gave 0"079 grammes sulphate of barytes (BaO, 
SO3), or for the entire liquid, 0*237 grammes (BaO, SO3) 
= 0-OSl grammes sulphuric acid (SO3). 

The liquid filtered from the precipitate of BaO, SO3, was 
mixed with per-chloride of iron and acetate of soda, and boil- 
ed for five minutes in a large flask ; then the precipitate of 
phosphate of iron, and basic acetate of iron, was filtered while 
warm, and washed with boiling water, until on evaporating a 
drop of the filtrate there remained no residue. 

The precipitate was dissolved while moist, in as small a 
quantity of muriatic acid as possible. Tartaric acid and am- 
monia were now added in excess, when to the clear yellow- 
colored solution, a mixture of sulphate of magnesia and chloride 
of ammonia was added, to prevent a precipitate of magnesia. 
The precipitate was left standing for two days, after which it 
was filtered and washed out with water containing ammonia. 
When dried, burned and weighed, it gave 0*442 grammes of 
2MgO, POs, or for the entire liquid, 1-326 grammes of 2MgO, 
PO5 = 0-837 grammes phosphoric acid (PO5). 

0. 
Baryta water was added to this solution, until an alkaline 



ANALYSES OF COTTOX PLANT AND SEED. 193 

reaction had taken place, then boiled and filtered. The excess 
of barytes in the filtrate was removed with carbonate of am- 
monia and free ammonia — the filtrate was evaporated over a 
water-bath to dryness, and ignited until it was free from all 
ammoniacal salts, then dissolved in water. Some magnesia re- 
maining insoluble, was filtered off, and the filtrate again evapo- 
rated to dryness, and ignited, then weighed. It gave 0-770 
grammes of the chlorides of the alkalies, which is for the en- 
tire liquid, 2*310 grammes. These alkalies were again dis- 
solved in a small quantity of water, and the potassa estimated 
with bi-chloride o^ platinum, which gave, after being evaporat- 
ed with alcohol over a water-bath, 2-^5Q grammes of double 
chloride of potassium and chloride of platinum (KCl, PtCLj), 
or for the entire liquid, 7*068 grammes (KCl, PtClJ. This re- 
presents 2" 157 grammes chloride of potassium (KCl), or 1-326 
grammes potassa (KO). 

There remains, consequently, after subtracting the chloride 
of potassium from the chlorides of the alkalies, as follows, the 
amount of chloride of sodium, which is estimated as loss, thus 
2-310 KCl, NaCl— 2-157, KCl. =0 53 (NaCl), chloride ot 
sodium. 2-970 grammes of the ash was boiled with distilled 
water, and filtered. The filtrate was acidulated with nitric 
acid, then precipitated with nitrate of silver. It gave 0*044 
grammes of chloride of silver (AgCl), or 0*022 grammes chlo- 
rine (CI), also, 0*153 grammes, NaCl, — 0*037 grammes, NaCl. 
=r 0*116 grammes chloride of sodium (NaCl), = 0*061 
grammes soda (NaO). 

1*066 grammes of the ash gave 0*168 grammes carbonic acid 
(CO^). The following is the per centage of the constitueuts in 
100 parts of the ash. 



194 COTTON PLANTERS 


MANUAL. 


GRAMMES FOUND. 




PER CENTAGE. 


Silicic Acid, . 


0-403 


6-50 SiO^. 


Sand and Coal, . 


0-621 


10-04 Sand and Coal, 


Oxide of Iron, 


0-507 


8-20 FeA. 


Oxide of Lime, . 


1-092 


17-66 CaO. 


Oxide of Magnesia, 


0-330 


5-33 MgO. 


Sulphuric Acid, . 


0-081 


1-31 SO3. 


Phosphoric Acid, 


0-837 


13-37 PO5. 


Potassa, 


1-362 


22-01 KO. 


Soda, .... 


0061 


0-99 NaO. 


Chloride of Sodium, . 


0-307 


0-05 NaCl. 


Carbonic Acid, 


0-168 


15-72 CO,. 



101.19 



ANALYSIS OF THE ASH OF COTTON SEED. 

Preparation of the Ash. — The seed were burned in a Hessian 
Crucible, with a muffle. Only a slight red heat was necessary 
to burn them perfectly white. 

For estimating the amount of water, 6-406 grammes of the 
seed were taken and dried, at 212 deg., until they remained 
at a constant weight. They gave 0-646 grammes water, 
z=i 10*08 per cent, — in 100 parts of the seed. 

Estimation of the Ash. — The seed were dried, until they 
remained at a constant weight, then burned in a platina cru- 
cible. 6-587 grammes of the dried seed gave 0*237 grammes 
ash — equal 3-8 per cent, ash, in 100 parts of the dried seed. 

The qualitative analysis showed that all the constituents 
were present, which were in the ash of the plant, with the ex- 
ception of carbonic acid. 

The quantitative analysis was carried out similar to that of 
the ash of the plant heretofore described. 



ANALYSES OF COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 



195 



The following are the resu 


Its — 1*882 grammes of the ash 


ed : 

FOUND. 




PER CENTAGE. 


Phosphoric Acid, 


0-667 


35-43 POg. 


Oxide of Iron, , 


0-075 


3-33 Fe^Oa 


Coal, . . . 


0020 


1-05 Coal. 


Sulphuric Acid, 


0060 


3-19 S@3. 


Oxide of Lime, 


0-204 


10-88 CaO. 


Oxide of Magnesia, . 


0-200 


10-61 MgO. 


Potassa, 


0-523 


27-82 KO. 


Soda, 


0-051 


2-75 NaO. 


Silicic Acid, 




Trace. 


Loss and Chlorine, . 




4-84 



100-00 



Suggestive Remarhs. 



On examining the foregoing analysis of the cotton seed, we 
see that they abound in the phosphates and alkalies. Drs. 
Will and Fresenius, in their analysis of the cereal grains, 
show that wheat also abounds largely in these constituents. 

In order to enable the reader to make the comparison, we 
give the analysis of red and white wheat, as published by 
them. It is as follows : 

Potassa, .... 

Soda, . . 

Lime, .... 

Magnesia, . . . . 

Peroxide of Iron, . 

Phosphoric Acid, 

Silica, .... 

Charcoal and Sand, 



RED. 


WHITE. 


2080 


3017 


1501 





1-83 


2-76 


9-12 


12-08 


1-29 


0-28 


46-91 


43-89 


0-15 




4-89 


9-03 



10000 



98-21 



196 COTTON planter's manual. 

All these constituents being derived directly from tlie soil, 
plainly indicate the reasons why our lands in the South are so 
easily exhausted. The crops extensively cultivated here all 
require, in a great measure, the same food from the soil ; and 
hence soils which will not produce cotton, are alike incapable 
of producing the cereal crops. The great benefit derived from 
the application of cotton seed as a manure to these crops, is 
accounted for from the same causes ; an abundance of phos- 
phates being given in their application to the soil. 
. Fallowing. — A system of tillage which carries away an- 
nually so large a proportion of these natural essentials to 
vegetation, and which provides no means of returning them, 
must necessarily impoverish any soil. A fixed principle in the 
agriculture of all countries where the prosperity of the future 
has at all been regarded, has been the gradual but certain 
improvement of the soil. This is necessary for the support of 
increased population ; and in the Slave States, where there has 
been such an extraordinary and rapid increase of the laboring 
population, it should never be lost sight of. The intensity of 
our southern sunshine prevents, in a great measure, the annual 
coat of grass which supplies vegetable matter to the soil in 
northern climates ; and the never-ending occupation of the 
soils, by our system of culture, prevents the natural improve- 
ment which in other countries is carried out by fallowing. We 
are well aware that fallowing is generally objected to in the 
South ; and we think where fallow is converted into pasture 
land, and taxed during the whole season for the production of 
herbage to sustain greedy herds, the system might well come 
into disrepute. Planters, too, object to fallowing, and say they 
have not land enough to allow one-half to lie idle, &c. ; but 
reason, and justice to the noble occupation of agriculture, al- 
lows this objection to pass unheeded ; and its fallacy is proven 
by the desert wastes of " old fields,''' — an agricultural feature 



ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 197 

only common to tlie New World, and, we blusli to say it, only 
visible in the Southern or planting States. In Europe, where 
arable soil, compared to population, is a thousand times scarcer 
than in the Southern States, the agriculturists find fallowing 
a remunerative system. It is but little understood in American 
agriculture, and we may be pardoned for giving the proper 
details for fallowing, believing it to be the cheapest manner 
of renovating our soils. A field intended for fallow, should be 
deeply ploughed in mid-winter ; the deeper the ploughing the 
better. This is simple preparation, but nevertheless necessary; 
and, above all things, keep every description of stock off in 
the field. The porousness of the soil will facilitate the assim- 
ilation of the natural salts of the earth, and atmospheric 
action, with the dissolving influence of the rains, will generally 
bring to the aid of the succeeding crop a sufficient quantity of 
these for its production. Late in autumn the herbage should 
be turned under. This process exerts chemical and natural 
influences beneficial to the soil, — First : as by decomposition 
of vegetable matter carbonic acid is produced, which is known 
to act as a powerful solvent of phosphated alkalies, — Secondly : 
those portions of the grass and weeds not readily decomposable, 
when admixed with the soil, give it that friability so necessary 
to easy tillage, and thus aids the agriculturist in his future 
labors. A bastard system of fallowing might, by the aid of 
the black and red tory pea, be judiciously adopted in the 
cotton-growing States. Owing to their imperviousness to wet, 
they can be sown in mid-winter, and, vegetating in the Spring 
without the aid of cultivation, generally make, upon ordinarily 
productive land, a sufficient crop to protect it from the sun in 
Summer, and smother out those weeds which are such a pest 
to cultivated crops. The constituents of the Indian pea — known 
to be in a great measure derived from the atmosphere — would 
in all probability furnish a better green crop for subversion, 



198 coTTOX planter's manual. 

than the natural grasses and weeds. Judicious fallowing is, 
therefore, in our opinion, the cheapest, and by far the easiest 
mode of renovating and preserving the productiveness of our 
soils, and, if adopted and regularly persevered in, would 
heighten both the production and value of our cotton lands. 



Compost Manure. — Much may be effected in reclaiming 
worn-out cotton lands, by a good system of Compost Manur- 
ing ; the benefits of which have been forced upon our Agri- 
culturists by the gradual accumulation of animal manures, and 
the decomposition of wasted vegetable matter, in and around 
their barn-yards. It is a system which should be so generally 
understood and practised, that we deem it unnecessary to 
make other than a few remarks respecting the increase of this 
manure and its application. It is a mistaken idea, that the 
planter gains by hauling into his barn-yard, the stalks from 
his corn and cotton fields, in order to convert them into com- 
post manure. Their elements would be returned to the soil, 
by the certain law of vegetable decomposition, if suffered to 
remain on the fields, and their place in the compost heap can 
be supplied easily by litter and leaves from the forests, 
grasses, weeds, and muck from the marshes, ditches, and 
fence rows on the farm. Weeds, abounding in the alkalies, 
furnish profitable vegetable matter for composting. In addi- 
tion to these, we have the rotten wood and forest leaves, which 
are so abundant on all hands. Muck or peat, being decayed 
vegetable matter in mass, in this concentrated form contains 
a large amount of phosphates and alkalies — and when mingled 
^vith the droppings of animals, forms a compost highly reten- 
tive of substances thus imparted, which it yields most readily 
to the growing crops to which it is applied. Compost when 



ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 199 

applied in winter, does not req[uire to be thoroughly decom- 
posed, but when, as is the case on crops where it is applied 
in the spring, and its elements are demanded immediately by 
the young plants, its decomposition should be perfect. The 
compost heap should be protected from the rains, in order to 
prevent those salts rendered soluble by moisture, from being- 
washed away. It would add much to the value of compost 
manure, if the water collecting on the roofs of farm buildings 
was carried in gutters entirely beyond the yard, and not al- 
lowed to flow through it, which would be greatly facilitated 
by a concentration of farm buildings. 

Every domestic animal if properly confined and quartered, 
when not in use or grazing, would amply repay for the trouble 
in attending to it, and the filth from the wash house, sterco- 
rary, pig-pen, hen-house, and pigeon-cote, so much neglected 
amongst us, would if properly hoarded, furnish most valuable 
ingredients to the heap. A concentration of all that is essen- 
tial to the production of our cultivated plants, being found in 
the component parts of this fertilizer — derivable from the 
cereal food consumed by animals, and the phosphate and alka- 
line properties of the weeds, grasses, &c., makes it at one© 
the best and cheapest form of applying vegetable and animal 
manures for the immediate production of a crop, at the com- 
mand of our planters. The quantity might be increased on 
every plantation in the State, to a degree which would make 
its manufacture profitable. This, however, will never be 
done until fewer acres are planted, which will enable them to 
manure more land. 

Bone Manure. — Bones, according to Berzilius, contain 
55 per cent., of the phosphates of lime and magnesia. The 
relative value of the bones of difi'erent animals varies in their 
constituents, and also from the difi'erence in age, their value 
being increased with years. The bones upon every farm would 



200 

furnish, if preserved and applied, a considerable amount of the 
best and most durable fertilizer, which is peculiarly adapted 
to the production of the cotton crop. This is proven by the 
identity of the constituents which compose bones, and are found 
in the cotton plant. The planter in the marl regions, espe- 
cially where fossil bones and shells abound, has an abundant 
supply of native phosphate of lime, which only requires pul- 
verization, to render it almost as useful as the recent bones. 
Phosphates in the bones comprise their chief value, which is 
shown by the fact, that they make a fertilizer equally as val- 
uable, after the fatty matter has been extracted by soap 
boilers, as before — Whence, all old bones might be rendered 
valuable if properly applied. Guano, the most powerful fer- 
tilizer applicable to husbandry, being the ordure of sea-birds, 
it is known, derives its great value from the amount of bone 
earth it contains. We therefore regard the annual waste of 
bones on plantations in the South, where more animal food is 
consumed than by any other people in the world, as the most 
suicidal disregard of that economy, which has furnished the 
axiom to agriculturists — " that manure is ivealtk." 

Many arguments abound to favor the adoption of bones as 
manure amongst us. One is, they can easily be preserved, 
and it only requires the same labor to do this that it does to 
throw them away. Another argument in their favor is, that 
a laborer, in a sack, can transport to a distant field, bone 
manure which will furnish more constituents to the crop, than 
can be concentrated in a four-horse load of the best stable 
dung, or compost manure — still another, is the little labor it 
requires to apply them to the soil. The great secret of apply- 
ing bones to the soil, is found in pulverizing them into as 
finely separated particles as possible, which fits them for the 
operation of speedy atmospheric influence — in order that their 
constituents may be taken up rapidly by the plants. Grind- 



ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 201 

ing, crushing and burning, are the usual modes, but in order 
to fit the crushed bones or bone ashes for the greatest produc- 
tion, Professor Von Liebig, recommends the following process : 

Pour over the crushed bones or bone ashes, half their weight 
of sulphuric acid, diluted with four parts of water, and after 
they have been digested for twenty-four hours, add one hun- 
dred parts of water — sprinkle this mixture over the field imme- 
diately before ploughing. By its action, in a few seconds the 
free acids unite with the bases contained in the earth, a 
neutral salt is formed, in a very fine state of division. Ex- 
periments instituted on soils, for the purpose of ascertaining 
the action of manure prepared in this manner, have distinctly 
shown that neither grain, nor kitchen garden plants, suffer 
injurious effects in consequence, but that, on the contrary, 
they thrive with much more vigor after its application. ( Vide 
Von Liehig's Organic Chemistry, American Edition, p. 230.) 

Another theory of application, by the great French chemist, 
M. Dumas, the substance of which we give from his article 
(contained in Compes Rendus, Nov. 30, 1846,^. 1018,) "On 
the Manner in which Phosphate of Lime enters Organized 
Beings," is interesting. He remarks, that the phosphate of 
lime being insoluble in water, nevertheless penetrates, and is 
deposited in their structure, and bones containing it are slowly 
disintegrated by the soil and disappear after a time, under 
the influence of the rains. The investigations of M. Dumas 
discovered two causes producing these effects — the one acting 
rarely and feebly — the other constantly, and with great in- 
tensity. 

The first resides in a property possessed by salammoniac, 
which facilitates the solution of phosphate of lime. Though 
this salt dissolves a notable quantity, and exists in all running 
waters — yet, this slight proportion renders its action in this 
respect inconsiderable. 
9* 



202 

The second is found in tlie action of carbonic acid ; and in 
this, the true solvent of phosphate of lime is to be found^for 
water impregnated with carbonic acid dissolves large quanti- 
ties of phosphate of lime. M. M. Berzilius and Thenard, had 
remarked the alkalies and ebullition, by driving off, or neu- 
tralizing the carbonic acid which precipitated it. 

M. Dumas, believing the action of the carbonic acid to be 
such as above stated, did not doubt the effect it would pro- 
duce on the bones themselves. He therefore introduced plates 
of ivory into bottles of Seltzer water, (which contains a great 
deal of carbonic acid,) and they were as much softened in 
twenty-four hours, as if acted on by dilute hydro-chloric acid, 
which is also a powerful solvent of phosphate of lime. The 
Seltzer water was found loaded with phosphate of lime, and 
the experiment proved the action of carbonic acid as its sol- 
vent, to be both rapid and certain. I am sure this discovery 
will be of importance to the Agricultural world. 

I would call the attention of physiologists to this property 
in carbonic acid, as it satisfactorily explains the transforma- 
tion of the phosphate of lime into plants. Of course, it would 
not be practicable to dissolve the phosphate of lime by the 
aid of Seltzer water, but the preparation of bone ashes by its 
known and powerful constituent, might be rendered available 
in the following manner. Where bone powder or ashes is 
intended for manuring soil destitute of vegetable matter, let 
them be mixed with leaves or other organic matter, and its 
decomposition with the aid of the rains and atmospherical 
influence, will create a sufficient quantity of carbonic acid to 
assimilate the phosphates in such a form, that they will be 
readily taken up by the organism of the plants. 

How easily could a planter manure a few acres of cotton 
with bone powder or ashes ! When all the bones are hoarded 
as gold, and their true value known, they will be appreciated. 



ANALYSES OF THE COTTON PLANT AND SEED. 203 

Then a bone mill for crushing, and simple apparatus for their 
chemical reduction, will be as essential to producing the crop, 
as a grinding mill is, to prepare grain for the food of man. 

Wood Ashes, containing phosphates and alkalies, to a 
considerable extent, where they abound, may be used advan- 
tageously as a manure for cotton. 

Lime, being useful in decomposing and ameliorating ad- 
hesive soils, might be profitably employed in the permanent 
improvement of cotton lands. 

Common potter's clay, diffused through water and added 
to milk of Lime, thickens immediately upon mixing, and if 
the mixture be kept for some months, and an acid be added, 
the clay becomes gelatinous, which is the effect of the admix- 
ture of the lime. The lime in combining Avith the elements 
of the clay liquifies it, and what is more remarkable liberates 
the greater portion of its alkalies. These interesting facts, so 
important to the scientific world, were first observed by M. 
Fuchs, at Munich, and led to the explanation of the effects of 
caustie lime upon the soil, which furnishes the agriculturist 
with an invaluable means of opening it, and setting free its 
alkalies — substances so indispensable to the production of his 
crops. (For further facts concerning lime, and its application 
to Agriculture, see Liebig's Organic Chemistry, which should 
be in the hands of every one.) The lime lands of the West 
producing abundant crops of cotton, so long as furnished with 
vegetable matter, shows that lime alone, upon exhausted soils, 
would prove a doubtful aid. 

We could add suggestion after suggestion, relative to the 
aids to be applied to the production of cotton, upon exhausted 
soils, but these being the most important, we shall dispense 
with the boundless materials which lie abundantly around us, 
and only need transporting to our fields in order to benefit 
them. It was a matter of surprise to Professor Von Liebig, 



204 

that any soil not furnished by artificial means with the pre- 
ponderating constituents of the cotton plant and cotton seed, 
should produce a crop abounding in the phosphates. This 
leads me to further investigations, and a rich field of research 
still lies unexplored, in the analytical examination of the cot- 
ton soils of the South and West. 



SECTION III. — REPORT ON THE ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND 
ITS SOIL. 

Office of State Chemist, 29 Exchange Buildings, ) 
Baltimore, Nov. 7, 1854. S 

The following report on an examination and analysis of Sea 
Island Cotton Fibre and Seed, and the soil on which it grew, 
(the samples being carefully taken by the State Chemist on a 
late visit to Edisto Island,) was made for an intimate friend, 
(who owns large plantations of sea island,) in order to recom- 
mend a manure best adapted to the growth of this national 
staple ; but inasmuch as a subject of such vast consequence 
as the increased production of the cotton plant should be 
placed before the country at large, I with pleasure accede to 
your request, and furnish you for publication with the analy- 
sis of the cotton fibre, cotton seed, and cotton soil, in order that 
a manure may be compounded adapted to the wants of the 
plant and corresponding to the deficiencies of the soil upon 
which it is cultivated, and that the benefits of its use may be 
extended as far as this variety of cotton is cultivated. 

An}^ substance added to a soil to increase its products, with- 
out a knowledge of the constituents of the substance, the de- 
ficiencies of the soil, and the requirements of the crop, must 
depend for its success on mere accident and lucky guess- 
work ; whilst a manure compounded with reference to the 
wants of the soil and nature of the crop grown on it, must be 



ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 205 

successful, because used on rational principles, and as a cause 
to produce an effect, having a direct connection with and de- 
pendent on it. 

The cotton plant, like every other plant, requires for its 
perfection certain climate influences, proper cultivation, and a 
soil of proper physical texture, containing substances which 
do not and cannot exist in the atmosphere. All plants derive 
one part of their nourishment from the air, and another part, 
their mineral constituents, or ash, from the soil. Lime, mag- 
nesia, potash and soda, with various combinations of chloride, 
phosphoric and sulphuric acid, are necessary — absolutely neces- 
sary to the growth of the cotton plant. Without these no 
cotton plant has ever existed, and they cannot be obtained 
from the atmosphere, (with the exception of chloride and soda 
under particular circumstances,) and therefore they must 
either exist in the soil, or be supplied by the application of 
manure, or this plant will not grow. Manures, therefore, are 
nothing but substances necessary to the growth of a plant, 
which are deficient in the soil. If any soil contained all the 
substances which a plant required, in proper form for its use, 
there could be no manure for this soil, because there would be 
no deficiency to supply, and the plant grown on it would reach 
a degree of perfection limited only by the influence of its cul- 
tivation, and the climate. If on a soil containing all of these 
substances no manure would act, then on a soil deficient in 
any one of them, a manure would act only by supplying that 
deficiency, and should contain nothing but the substance de- 
ficient. All others would be useless. 

To manure any soil, then, as a matter of course, its de- 
ficiencies should be ascertained, and the manure made with 
reference to those deficiencies. These deficiencies can be 
ascertained in two ways ; the one by a long-continued course 
of practical experiments ; the other by chemical analysis of 



206 COTTON planter's manual. 

tlie soil and plant. Tlie world has depended, from its earliest 
ages, upon the first mode. With what success, the condition 
of agriculture, until the past ten years, will best answer. 
Improvement onlj reached a certain point, and that a very 
low one, and then ceased. Practical farming was as good in 
the days of Augustus as in the days of Washington. Farm- 
ing was as well conducted in Italy eighteen hundred years 
ago, as in the United States or England, twenty years ago. 
Mere practice, then, without the aid of science, failed to lay 
down a rational manuring system for the growth of wheat or 
any other crop ; and if practical experiment failed to do this 
for wheat in eighteen centuries, how much less has it done for 
cotton in fifty years ? How much more will it do for it in the 
next five hundred ? Agriculture, with the aid of both practi- 
cal experiment and chemical science, has advanced, in the 
manuring of the wheat crop, more within the last twenty 
years than in the five hundred preceding it. Have we not, 
then, just reason for the belief that if so much has been done 
for the art of agriculture by the application of a science yet 
in its youth, its manhood will give results which we now do 
not dream of? Should not the cotton plant avail itself of this 
new aid to its culture and productions, and use the means 
which it affords with a liberal hand ? * * * 

The effect which we desire, is the production of the cotton 
plant in its greatest perfection. 

The causes of production are the physical state of the soil, 
the climate, the cultivation of the crop, and, when required, 
manuring. We shall not speak of the physical character of 
the soil in this place ; nor of the climate, because it is beyond 
our influence ; nor of cultivation, because that can be best 
done by the owner by means within his own control. 

What are the substances necessary to the growth of the cot- 
ton plant ? Are all or any of these deficient in the soil ? If 



ANALYSIS OF MOTTON AND ITS SOIL. 



207 



so, then the manure best adapted to the soil is the one most 
abounding in the deficiencies of the soil, and such a manure 
must be recommended by the teaching of science, aided by 
all the lights of experience. 

First. What are the substances necessary to the growth of 
the cotton plant which exist in the soil ? 

The cotton plant, like other plants, is composed of two 
grand classes of organs, one directly and the other indirectly 
tending to the perpetuation of the species ; the first is the stalk 
and leaves, the second the seed and its appendage, the cotton 
fibre or wool. 

The following table of the analysis of the Cotton Fibre and 
Seed, shows the composition of each, and the proportionate 
quantity of the substances which they require : 



COTTON, 

General Per Centage, Components of, as to 



FIBRE. 


SEED. 


Water, * 472 


9-51 


Organic Matter, 94-03 


86-46 


Ash or Mineral Matter, . . . .1-25 


403 


10000 


100-00 


Fer Centage Composition of the alove Ash or Mineral Matter. 


FIBRE. 


SEED. 


Potash, 35-26 


34-75 


Soda, . . . . . . . 5-11 


1-10 


Lime, 16-73 


600 


Magnesia, 9*47 


13-73 


Peroxide of Iron, 2-07 


0-55 


Silicic Acid, 0-26 


trace. 


Phosphoric Acid, 5-42 


35-85 


Sulphuric Acid, 3-53 


3-96 


Chloride, 6-60 


0.47 


Carbonic Acid, 15-55 


359 



100-00 



100-00 



208 

The composition of these two will show what they require, 
and if their requirements be not allowed, they will fail to 
grow. 

From the above it will be seen that the wants as to mineral 
matter of the cotton wool, or fibre, are chiefly potash and 
lime. Potash is the chief desideratum in a soil to produce the 
fibre. If the soil be deficient in this, then potash should be 
the chief constituent in the manure ; this is a self-evident pro- 
position. Next to this in quantity, we have lime ; if the soil 
on which cotton is planted contains not this in sufficient quan- 
tities, then the manure should supply the deficiency. This is 
also a truism ; because we know that neither potash nor lime 
is furnished to crops, except through the agency of the soil, 
or manures. Soda is also a component of the cotton fibre to 
a large extent ; but we need not make this a constituent of a 
manure for this crop, because from the locality where it is 
grown, (near to the ocean shore,) a large quantity of soda, in 
the form of common salt, is supplied to all of the soils of these 
Sea Islands, in the spray from the ocean. Here then is a 
source of supply. The same is true of chlorine, which is here 
always associated with soda. Phosphoric and sulphuric acids 
likewise exist in the fibre. All of these are necessary to the 
full development of the cotton fibre ; and without these it 
cannot exist. Not the least fibre could be produced unless on 
a soil containing not one, or several, but all of these constitu- 
ents. So much for the cotton fibre as to its wanting of mineral 
constituents ; furthermore, it requires a mechanical basis for 
its growth ; there are seeds from which the fibre springs ; 
without a healthy seed of strong vital power, the fibre will be 
small in quantity and of inferior quality. We now, there- 
fore, turn our attention to it, and seek its wants from its 
analysis. 

The analysis of the seed shows it to be much richer in 



ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 209 

mineral matter tlian fibre ; tlie latter containing only 1.25 per 
cent, of ash, whilst the former contains 4*03 per cent. In the 
seed the chief mineral constituent is phosphoric acid ; more 
than one-third of all the mineral composition of th© seed being 
composed of this ; we have next in quantity potash, also com- 
posing more than one-third of the whole amount of mineral 
matter ; next in quantity we have magnesia, then lime, then 
sulphuric acid ; and as neither of these substances can be fur- 
nished by the air, if the soil be deficient in them, they must 
be supplied by manures. They are essential to the growth 
of the plant, and if not present in the soil in proper quantity, 
and suitable form for assimilation, the plant, without manure, 
will languish and die. 

We thus are told by the fibre and seed, in plainest language, 
what they need for their full development ; the cotton plant 
seeks this kind of food from the soil. Can the soil respond to 
its wants ? Is it capable of furnishing all of the constituents 
shown in the above analysis in proper quantity, and in proper 
form, to supply what the plant needs ? If the soil can do 
this, then no mineral manure is necessary. We will submit 
the soil to the same scrutiny as that to which the fibre and 
seed have been subjected. We will add to this, inforniation 
derived from practical experience in manuring the soil — a 
thing never to be despised, and we will see in these two 
modes, each confirming and strengthening the testimony of 
the other, what should be the composition of the manure best 
adapted to the crop, and at the same time the wants or the 
deficiencies of the soil upon which it grows. 

The soil upon which the above-examined cotton was raised, 
is composed, as to its bulk, of nine-tenths of fine alluvial 
sand, and of one-tenth of a cement consisting of sand, 
peroxide of iron, clay, lime, magnesia, and humus. It is not 
alone the proportionally very small quantity of cement to 



210 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

that of sand in which this soil differs from ordinary produc- 
tive soils, known as clayey loams, and which renders it a very 
light one, of little tenacity, or of retaining powers for water, 
and nourishment in general, but this condition is also due to 
the nature of the cement itself, which does not show a proper 
quantitative proportion of its constituents. These constituents 
ought to be united to each other in such a proportion, that 
none of them can exercise a predominent influence. Sand, 
lime and magnesia, on one side, have to temper the tenacity 
and binding of the clay, iron, and humus, and by these means 
permit the free influence of the air upon the soil, and the 
rain water to penetrate it intimately without resting upon it. 
Clay, iron, and humus, on the other side, have to exercise 
their binding and water-reserving powers, but only to such 
an extent as will retain the solution of nourishing substances 
without doing injury to the porosity of the soil or its commu- 
nication with atmospheric ingredients. 

An examination of the cement of the soil in question, shows 
no such quantitative proportion of its constituents. It is 
almost entirely composed of sand, and peroxide of iron, next 
to those of clay, then of magnesia and humus, and only of 
such small quantities of lime as is quite common in soils. It is 
most probably to this fact that the larger per centage of mag- 
nesia must be attributed, which we meet in the composition 
of the ash of the cotton fibre, and especially in that of the 
seeds raised upon this soil. The want of lime induced the 
cotton plants to appropriate more abundantly magnesia, a 
substance which, in its chemical character and properties, 
stands nearest to lime, and which, therefore, is capable of sub- 
stituting it to some extent. It is, however, beyond doubt 
that a substitution of lime by magnesia, induced by circum- 
stances of necessity as they may have occurred here, will 
rather act injuriously on the quality of the fibre than improve 



ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 211 

it, and that, therefore, the planter's principal endeavor must 
be directed to the formation of a more calcareous cement, as 
well as it regards the mechanical texture of the soil as its di- 
rectly nourishing properties. The improvement in the me- 
chanical texture of this soil will best be effected by the appli- 
cation of a clayey marl, a substance composed of clay and 
lime, of which the former will increase the slight tenacity and 
water-reserving powers of the soil, whilst the latter will supply 
the present deficiency of lime. 

If clayey marl cannot be procured, it may be best substi- 
tuted by any kind of mud, the texture of which is stiffer than 
that of the soil, mixed with common oyster shell lime, which 
should be applied to this soil on the surface, and suffered to 
remain there as long as possible. This will act on the soil in 
the double capacity of improving its texture, and affording 
lime as a nutriment. 

As to the directly nourishing properties of the soil, the 
analysis shows one acre, one foot deep, weighing 3,000 tons, 
to contain — of phosphoric acid, less than 15 lbs. ; sulphuric 
acid, less than is contained in one bushel of plaster of Paris ; 
chlorine, more than is contained in four bushels of common 
salt ; potash, less than 20 lbs,, a quantity so small that it 
could not accurately be ascertained ; soda, more than four 
bushels of common salt contained. 

We here, therefore, meet with — 

A deficiency of phosphoric acid ; 

A deficiency of sulphuric acid ; 

A deficiency of potash ; 
and on the other side with — 

An abundance of chlorine ; 

An abundance of soda. 

As to soda, it stands nearest in its chemical character to 
potash, and though it is itself not nourishment for plants, to 



212 COTTON planter's manual. 

any great extent, as tlie quantity of it decreases in plants in 
proportion to tlieir cultivation, it nevertheless acts as a 
substitute for potash, in the same manner as magnesia for 
lime. The composition of the cotton staple, as given above, 
shows the presence of soda in its ash in no small quantity. 
This circumstance seems to express, in accordance with the 
analysis of the soil, that by the scarcity of potash the plants 
were forced to assimilate soda. In this condition of things, 
the cotton plant could not be produced in its most perfect 
form. 

If we now consider attentively — first, the requirements of the 
cotton seed and fibre ; and secondly, the capacity of the soil 
to meet these requirements, we shall find the chief deficiencies 
to be these — first, a deficiency of lime in the soil ; secondly, 
a deficiency of potash ; thirdly, a deficiency of phosphoric and 
sulphuric acid. 

This is taught us by the analysis. How is this borne out 
by practical experience in the manures of these soils ? It is 
confirmed to the very letter. The best manure for the cot- 
ton plant is cow-pen manure and cotton seed — both rich in 
phosphoric acid and potash. The success of these manures 
proves a deficiency in the soil of their chief constituents, 
which are phosphoric acid and potash, otherwise they would 
not act as manures. The first of these sources, the cotton 
seed, cannot be obtained in sufficient quantities to manure all 
the land in cultivation, nor can cow-pen manure be applied 
to all of the soil in cultivation, because of the few cattle raised 
on the sea island cotton lands. We then must have recourse 
to a supply of manure, not directly the product of the soil 
itself. 

This manure should especially contain phosphoric acid and 
potash, because they are the substances most needed by the 
cotton plant, and at the same time those least abundant in 



ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 213 

the soil. Practice has taught us, moreover, that in the great 
majority of soils, some nitrogenous manure is necessary, in 
order to give a quick early growth to the young plant. We 
must then apply a manure composed of nitrogenous com- 
pounds, phosphoric acid and potash ; the constituents neces- 
sary can be very easily and cheaply supplied. 

Peruvian guano is the cheapest source of supply of nitro- 
genous compounds. 

Bone dust for phosphoric acid. 

The various refuse of manufactories for potash. 

Sulphuric acid is best supplied by plaster of Paris, which 
need not be used when bones are dissolved in sulphuric acid, 
and used as a constituent of the manure. 

Whatever may be the productive capacity of cotton soil in 
its virgin state, it must deteriorate by long continued culti- 
vation; this must be met by having the composition of cotton. 
The following table shows the substances and the quantity 
used in a crop respectively by the fibre and seed. 



COTTON, 

Production Per Acre. 

Fibre, ..;... 200 pounds. 
Seeds, 600 " 

General Composition (in pounds) of 

300 lbs. Fibre. 600 lbs. Seeds. 



Water, .... 


9-44 


57-06 


Organic Matter, 


188-06 


518-76 


Ash or Mineral Matter, 


2-50 


24-18 



200-00 600-00 



214 



COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL. 



Composition of the above Ash, as taken away by a crop from 
one acre [in pounds). 





BY THE FIBRE. 


BY THE SEEDS. 


IN ALL. 


Potash, . 


0-881 


8-403 


9-284 


Soda, 


0128 


0-266 


0-394 


Lime, 


0-418 


1-451 


1-869 


Magnesia, 


0-237 


3-320 


3-557 


Peroxide of Iron, 


0-051 


0-132 


0-183 


Silicic Acid, 


0-007 


trace 


0007 


Phosplioric Acid, 


0-136 


8-669 


8-805 


Sulphuric Acid, 


0-088 


0-958 


1-046 


Chloride, . 


0-166 


0-113 


0-279 


Carbonic Acid, 


0-388 


0-868 


1-256 



2-500 



24-180 



26-680 



This table shows, that in order to maintain a soil in its 
original excellence, manures must be added having the com- 
position of the cotton cultivated ; and they must, for practical 
utility, not onl}^ contain all the constituents of the cotton, but 
have an excess to provide against loss from all sources which 
tend to the depreciation of manures. 

The manure compounded by you for the cotton plant, is 
mainly composed of these ingredients, and must of consequence 
be peculiarly adapted to its growth, and the permanent im- 
provement of the land upon which it is grown, since more of 
it is applied than is consumed by the plant. 

I have been very cautious, for various reasons, to recom- 
mend no artificial manure unless guaranteed as to its composi- 
tion, as the objection to many artificial manures is that they are 
not made of uniform character. This objection is met, in that 
which you sell, by the guarantee which you give ; a thing 
done according to suggestions given in the Second Annual 



ANALYSIS OF COTTON AND ITS SOIL. 215 

Report of the State Cbemist, to the House of Delegates, seve- 
ral years since. It is not necessary'' for us here to endorse 
either your pecuniary responsibility or your personal character. 
The former can be easily proven by any one who may become 
interested ; the latter has been endorsed in various ways, at 
different times, by your party, by the people, and by our Na- 
tional Executive. First, by your party, in nominating you 
for the highly responsible and lucrative office of High Sheriff 
of Baltimore City and County — a nomination confirmed by a 
large majority of your fellow-citizens ; then, by your appoint- 
ment as a delegate to several of our National Presidential 
Conventions ; and, subsec[uently, by your appointment to the 
second gift of the President, in our State — that of Naval Officer 
of the Port of Baltimore. In each of these instances you had 
for competitors some of the best men in our State. The best 
future recommendation for your manure will be its results, and 
to them we can look forward with implicit confidence. 

There doubtless is a marked difference in many of the cot- 
ton lands of the South, which will have to be made known by 
a chemical analysis. Some may be deficient in one substance, 
and some in ^another. This variation, of course, is to be met 
by a corresponding change in the constituents of the manure ; 
and its failure must be attributed to the peculiar nature of 
the soil, not the manure, when constituted as above recom- 
mended. 

Wishing you success in your enterprise, and those who pat- 
ronize it most abundant crops, we are very truly yours, 

JAMES HIGGINS. 

CHARLES BICKELL. 
John Kettlewell, Esq., Baltimore. 



CHAPTER YI. 

COTTON CONSUMPTION AND COTTON TEADE — COTTON 
TEADE FEOM 1825 TO 1850. BY PEOFESSOE McKAY, LATE 
OF THE UNIVEESITY OF GEOEGIA. 



SECTION I. — COTTON BAGGING. 

Will not the planters of Georgia encourage the use of bag- 
ging made from cotton ? Listen to these facts and decide for 
yourselves. 

The cotton crop of 1839, by the published statistics, was 
from Georgia, 163,000,000 lbs. Averaging the bag at 400 lbs., 
this made the crop 407,500 bags. This required, at five yards 
per bag, 2,036,500 yards, which at twenty cents per yard, is 
8407,500. If the bagging made from cotton be used in place 
of hem'p, every dollar of this money is retained in the State ; 
whereas, with the use of hemp, every dollar is carried out of 
it, except the small items of transportations and commissions. 
For safety's sake, we may say that $300,000 of this amount is 
taken away from the State entirely. 

Again, to manufacture this bagging each yard requires two 
lbs. of raw cotton, which makes an amount of 4,077,000 lbs. 
Now if we use hemp bagging, we add just this amount an- 
nually to the supply from the crop for manufacturing purpose, 
and it tends to diminish the demand just so much. Suppose 
we convert it into bagging, we furnish a new demand for 

[2161 



COTTON BEDS. 217 

that amount. In other words, we withdraw from market that 
amount, diminish that portion of the supply — reduce the crop 
so much, which at 400 lbs. per bag is 10.192 bags, and there- 
by increase so much the demand for our cotton. In addition 
to the large amount of cotton thus consumed, there is also a 
considerable quantity converted into rope and twine. Will 
not the farmers study these facts, and take the hint ? Head 
this article again, and see how you like my suggestions. May 
not we reduce the price of bagging to sixteen or seventeen 
cents, if we encourage entirely our own manufactures in mak- 
ing it, and save commissions, profits and freights now made 
by commission merchants, and ships and steamboat owners. 

PUTNAM. ISouthtrn Recorder. -\ 



SECTION II. — COTTON BEDS — A GOOD SUGGESTION. 

We find the following in the Albany Cultivator. Cotton 
beds are becoming very much in use on steamboats on the 
Western rivers, and they are considered superior to any kind 
but hair : 

Cotton Beds. — We have received from J. A. Guernsey, 
Esq., a copy of the Southron, published at Jackson, Miss., con- 
taining some remarks on the advantages of cotton for bedding. 
These advantages may be summed up as follows. It is claim- 
ed that " It is the cheapest, most comfortable, and most healthy 
material for bedding, that is known in the civilized world. 
In addition to these, may be named superior cleanliness ; ver- 
min will not abide it : there is no grease in it, as in hair or 
wool ; it does not get stale and acquire an unpleasant odor, as 
feathers do ; moths do not infest it, as they do wool ; it does 
not pack and become hard, as moss does ; nor does it become 
dry, brittle and dusty, as do straw or husk ; and in many 
10 



218 COTTON planter's manual. 

cases medicinaiy It is said not to cause that lassitude and 
inertia wliicli is produced by sleeping on feathers. People 
not acq^uainted with it, have supposed they have been sleep- 
ing on the best feathers, when in fact their beds were made 
of cotton. The relative cost of cotton compared with feathers, 
hair, &c., may be seen from the following statement : 

Cost of a Hair Mattress. — They are generally sold by the 
pound, and cost from fifty to seventy-five cents per pound. 
Thirty or forty pounds will cost $15 or $20. 

Wool. — Thirty pounds of wool at thirty cents per pound, $9 ; 
twelve yards of ticking, at twelve and a half cents per 
yard, $1 50 ; labor, thread, &c., $2 75. Total, $13 25. 

Feathers. — Forty pounds feathers, at thirty cents per pound, 
$12 ; fifteen yards of ticking, at twelve and a half cents per 
yard, $1 SV^-; labor, &c., $2 75. Total, $16 Q2^. 

Cotton. — Thirty pounds cotton, at eight cents per pound, 
$3 40 ; twelve yards ticking, at twelve and a half cents per 
yard, $1 50 ; labor, thread, &c., $2 75. Total, $7 Q5. 

It is recommended to run the cotton through a ** picker," 
where one can conveniently be obtained, before using. This 
gives it additional cleanliness and buoyancy. 

The substitution of cotton for bedding throughout the United 
States wonld be an immense saving, beside opening a new 
avenue for that article, to an extent, according to the estima- 
tion of this writer, equal " to more than two of the largest 
crops of cotton ever produced in the United States." 

SECTION in. — A NEW USE FOR COTTON. 

A late number of the New York Day-Book contains the fol- 
lowing notice of a novel application of our great southern 
staple : 

*' Invention,. which goes far to make useful almost every pro- 



DOMESTIC BAGGING AND BLANKETS. 219 

duction of nature, has found a new use for cotton, in which, 
without doubt, a very large amount will be employed. We 
allude to the mattresses now coming so favorably and extensive- 
ly into use, in preference to any article heretofore tried. The 
writer of this has used one for six months past, and has found 
it to possess every requisite and desirable quality of a mattress, 
without the objections so frequently urged against moss, curled 
hair or husks — as the husks ^noulding from damps, bad smells 
from the curled hair in summer, and the lumpy matting of the 
moss. The cotton felting, prepared by a patented process, has 
none of these annoyances, is always elastic, and will, with 
ordinary care, last a lifetime. Our friends, ' way down on the 
old plantations,' will please make a note of this, and consider 
that the invention is a feather in their caps — or rather money 
in their purses — as the demand for the raw material at home 
will, doubtless, materially increase the price. We feel sure 
that if the real qualities of this mattress are ever made known 
to the public generally, five hundred thousand bales a year 
would not satisfy the demand for its manufacture. The article 
having been thoroughly tried on the principal steamships, and 
approved by their owners, as well as by physicians who have 
tried, and strongly recommend them, we doubt not the 
patentee will make a fortune on them. The agents for this 
city, and the Union generally, are Messrs. Doremus & Nixon, 
21 Park place and 19 Murray street." 



SECTION IV. — DOMESTIC BAGGING AND BLANKETS. 

Mr. Jones : — Being a reader of the Southern Cultivator, I 
have noticed several articles on the subject of the manufacture 
of cotton bagging, from cotton ; and having some practical 
knowledge on the subject, I avail myself of the invitation 



220 COTTON planter's manual. 

given in your paper, to give tlie result to the public through 
its columns, with the hope of contributing something to render 
the planters more independent, and add to their comfort. 

During the late war with England, when bagging was scarce 
and very high — one dollar per yard — I purchased a sley, made 
for the express purpose of weaving bagging, forty-two inches 
wide, sixteen " Z»zer." At that time I grew flax, and made 
several pieces of bagging, as gqpd as the imported article, 
which I sold for one dollar a yard. Twelve or thirteen years 
ago, I put up a screw for packing cotton ; since which I have 
made all my bagging, rope, and twine of cotton, which was 
spun upon a common wheel, and wove in a common loom in 
the old sley. The warp should be sufficiently stout to work 
two threads in a reed, and the filling coarse enough to keep 
the cloth the full width of the sley. Every girl that can draw 
a thread, can spin the filling ; and if the warp and filling are 
sufficiently stout, the bagging will be of as good quality as 
may be desired. I make mine to weigh from 1|- to If pounds 
per yard, and in four and a-half yards I pack 330 to 350 
pounds of cotton. I always save the inferior cotton to make 
the bagging and rope, and my bales look as neat as any bales 
I see in the market, and generally, I believe, command as 
good a price as any, according to the quality of the staple. 
None need fear of success if the thread be sufficiently stout, 
and the sley be of the right kind. I therefore think that 
almost all planters, particularly small planters, may supply 
themselves with an excellent article of bagging and twine of 
their own make. 

There is another article I find greatly to my advantage to 
manufacture at home, which is wove in the same sley and 
loom, — I mean blankets for servants. If made heavy, and 
well wove, they will be as warm as, and much more durable 
than the imported article. They may be made of any con- 



COTTON RIGGING FOR SHIPS. 221 

venient size ; and if the filling be slack twisted and neatly- 
carded after being wove, the blanket will do no discredit to 
the bed of a gentleman and his lady. My family have made 
their blankets for many years, and those wives and daughters 
who feel a desire to excel in the manufacture of their carpeting, 
will find such a sley a great auxiliary : and so far as the home 
manufacture of these articles can contribute to our indepen- 
dence and comfort, we can accomplish it ; and I hope that our 
wives and daughters have both industry and patriotism suf- 
ficient to make the effort, provided they are seconded in their 
exertions by their husbands and fathers. 
Yours, respectfully, 
Gwinnett Co., October, 1843. ANSELM ANTHONY. 



SECTION V. — COTTON RIGGING FOR SHIPS. 

This article, we are glad to see, continues to grow in public 
favor. The Delta states that at one time, during the month 
of April, there were the following ships — all new, and of large 
tonnage — in the port of New Orleans, with a part or the whole 
of their running rigging and hawsers of cotton cordage : — 
North America, Escort, Shakespeare, of Boston; Knicker- 
bocker, of New York ; Erie, Liberty, St. Patrick, of Thomas- 
ton, Me. ; Walter Scott, Civilian, Saniscott, Eobert Lane, Sea 
Breeze, Sewell, of Boston. The officers of all these ships were 
unanimous in their testimony in favor of cotton cordage for 
running rigging, and many of them thought it would be adopted 
for standing also. 

The Delta states that Donald McKay, the celebrated ship- 
builder at Boston, the owner and builder of the famous clipper 
ship Republic, is adopting cotton cordage for all his new ships. 
The large new clipper ship Caleb Cushing, recently built at 



222 COTTON planter's manual. 

Newburyport, Mass., has all lier rigging, botli standing and 
running, of cotton cordage. Capt. J. P. Smith, of the ship 
Walter Scott, gives it as his opinion that it will outlast any 
rope, whether hemp or Manilla. He is also quite sure the 
cotton rope is the strongest of the three ropes, as by bending 
cotton and Manilla ropes of equal sizes together, and heaving 
on it, at the capstan, the Manilla will always part first. Capt. 
Brown, of the ship Escort, says that he has used cotton cordage 
twenty-eight months on the ship Medora, and found it to wear 
far better, on all accounts, than any other rigging he ever 
used. In wet weather, likewise, it is more pliable, and in 
frosty weather it is not so stiff as Manilla. After it is used a 
few months it becomes smooth and glossy, aad works through 
the blocks much better than any other rope. After the Escort 
was launched last autumn, at Bristol, Me., she was made fast 
with two Manilla lines, and three and a-half inch line of cotton 
cordage seventy fathoms in length, and a very heavy blow 
came up and the two Manilla lines parted, and the ship rode 
for more than twenty -four hours, and during the gale, with 
this line, run out its whole length, alone to hold her ; and the 
strain was so great that it wore and imbedded its full size into 
the white oak crosstrees, without breaking a thread in it. It 
is Captain Brown's opinion, that no Manilla or hemp rope 
of the same size could have held the ship under like circum- 
stances. A number of shipmasters' statements, all to the same 
purport as the above, are published in the Delta, all going to 
show that cotton cordages, like cotton duck, is destined to come 
into general use. 



SECTION VI. — PAPER FROM THE BARK OF COTTON. 

We called attention some months ago to specimens of 
hemp made from the bark stripped from cotton stalks and left 



PAPER FROM THE BARK OF COTTON. 223 

at our office for public inspection. We now learn from tlie 
New York Day Book, that specimens of bark have been ex- 
hibited to paper manufacturers at the North, which is found to 
be of a fibrous character, and is considered to be well adapted 
for the manufacture of good paper. 

The best period for preparing this cotton hemp will be as 
soon as practicable after the picking of cotton has been finished. 
The plants should then be pulled up and dew-rotted like hemp 
or flax, and afterwards broken up and the bark separated from 
the wood of the stalk. The specimens of clean bark exhibited 
to experienced paper makers was considered equal to good 
rags worth six cents per pound, or about $120 per ton, and 
was pronounced the best substitute for rags of any raw vege- 
table material known to the trade. 

The importance of an abundant and cheap material as a 
substitute for rags, from which good, cheap paper can be made, 
may be judged of from the fact that the United States con- 
sume as much as France and England combined. There is 
no element in the progress of civilization more important than 
cheap paper. 

For some years, the consumption of paper has been gaining 
on the supply of rags, and fears have been felt that the ad- 
vance in their cost would ultimately be seriously felt in every 
department of literature, so that should the discovery of 
cotton hemp realize the anticipations of paper makers, it will 
not only prove valuable to the South, but also to the civilized 
world. 

The magnitude of the paper business may be conceived 
when we take into consideration that there are seven hun- 
dred and fifty paper mills in the United States, employing 
three thousand engines, and which produce annually, at ten 
cents per pound, $27,000,000 worth of paper. To manufac- 
ture this amount of paper requires 405,000,000 pounds of rags, 



224 COTTON PLANTERS MANUAL. 

1^ lbs. of rags being necessary to produce one pound of paper. 
The value of the rags, at the average of four cents per pound, 
amounts to $16,000,000, to which, if the cost of making them 
into paper, including If cents to each pound of paper in labor, 
with wastage, chemicals, &c., be added, would swell the cost 
to $23,625,000 to produce $27,000,000 of paper — ^leaving nett 
profits on the total manufacture of $3,375,000. For the year 
ending the 30th June, 1855, we imported 40,013,516 pounds 
of foreign rags from twenty-six different countries. Of this 
amount, Tuscany, in Italy, supplied 14,000,000 pounds. Two 
Sicilies 6,000,000, Austria 4,000,000, Egypt 2,466,928, Turkey 
2,466,928, England 2,591,178. The total value of the 40,- 
013,516 pounds imported was $1,225,150. 

It is possible that the cotton fields of the south may furnish 
an almost inexhaustible supply of hemp, so as hereafter we 
will reach the great desideratum in modern civilization, an 
abundant and cheap supply of paper. — Savannah Republican. 



SECTION VII. — COTTON-SEED OIL. 

The Wakulla Times of a late date, says : — " ' The proprie- 
tors of one of our linseed oil mills have commenced the manu- 
facture of oil from cotton seed, and about 400 bags of the seed 
arrived here this week from Memphis, to be used for this pur- 
pose. The oil is used for burning. How far the parties will 
succeed in their enterprise remains to be demonstrated. We 
believe the manufacture of oil from cotton seed has been car- 
ried on in the South to a greater or less extent for several 
years ; at Natchez, we believe, one of these mills has been 
in operation for some ten years, but, so far, the oil has not 
come into general use. The difficulty seems to be in clarify- 
ing, as it will not burn in a crude state. Should our enter- 



COTTON SEED OIL. 225 

prising citizens succeed in preparing the oil for use, it will 
prove a most important article of commerce.' — Cincinnati 
Price Current. 

" Perhaps there is now more cotton seed oil used for table 
and other purposes than even consumers themselves are aware 
of, to say nothing of the soap, which is of a superior quality, 
made from the refuse of the oil after clarifying. On this sub- 
ject, a friend, whose statements may be relied on, writes us : 

" ' I notice in a Western paper that a concern in Cincinnati 
has commenced the manufacture of oil from cotton seed. I 
will mention a few facts which may be of use to somebody. 
There is a prejudice against cotton seed oil, but it is owing 
mainly to the fact that the seeds have been extensively used 
for that purpose without hulling — the hull imparting to the oil 
a bitter taste and a gummy substance, which injured it for 
drying, and causes a smoke when burning. Notwithstanding 
this, quantities of this oil have been mixed with linseed and 
lard oils, and the buyers have been none the wiser for it. 
Some three years since, a friend of mine commenced the 
manufacture of oil from cotton seed. The seeds were first 
perfectly hulled so that nothing but the meat of the seed was 
used. 

" * After the oil was extracted, it went through a clarifying 
process (a simple one, but very perfect), leaving it as clear 
and as pure as the best olive. For burning it has no superior, 
as it gives a clear, brilliant light, without smoke ; and for the 
table it can scarcely be surpassed, for it has deceived and is 
still deceiving many good judges of the article. Indeed, my 
friend assured me that he was unable to fill all the orders for 
oil put up for the table— but he added : " We dare not call it 
cotton seed oil lest it might prejudice the sale." ' 

" We of the cotton-growing States can safely feel ourselves 
perfectly independent of the world for oil for all purposes." 
10* 



226 



SECTION VIII. — COTTON SEED AS A MANURE. 

Mr. Editor : — The great enriching properties of cotton 
seed as a manure, and its superior power of imparting an early- 
impetus to the growth of plants, have been visible to all who 
have ever given them a fair trial. They need not be confined 
as a manure to any one article grown by the planter, but ex- 
tended to almost every species of vegetation — corn, peas, cot- 
ton, vegetables, small grain, and grapes — though not equally 
beneficial to all alike. From an experience of a few years, 
the subscriber would advise their use on land designed for 
corn, in the quantity of seventy-five bushels to the acre, to 
be hauled out after the land is well fallowed, a few days be- 
fore planting time, and deposited in piles of equal quantity 
and distance for convenience and facility in distributing them. 
The land being suitably prepared and ready for planting, the 
rows laid off by a shovel-plough, opening broad and deep, the 
seeds are then scattered from one end of the row to the other, 
with the corn dropped on them at such distance in the drill as 
the quality of the land will justify, say in medium or average 
land two and a-half feet apart, covered with a turning-plough, 
and harrowed off with an iron-tooth harrow. If the corn be 
planted and seed sown on it, the stand will be greatly en- 
dangered from the lint and heating quality of the seed, but 
by planting as advised, a stand will be secured. If a greater 
quantity of seed can be procured, the benefit desired will be 
more general and permanent to the land by scattering them 
broad-cast, and ploughing them in. Many contend that this 
manure is not felt longer than one year, but such persons, 
after exposing the seeds all the winter, haul them in small 
piles and suffer them to remain from March until May, when 
they are removed to the corn hill, there deposited on the sur- 



COTTON SEED AS A MANURE. 227 

face around the stalk to remain uncovered until wind, rain 
and sun dissipate its fertilizing properties. My own impres- 
sion is, that its influence is felt for five years, independent of 
an increased quantity of vegetable matter returned to enrich 
the land. If the season proves suitable, by this plan of man- 
uring in the drill, one may realize a hundred per cent, in the 
yield of corn ; and the succeeding 3- ear, if planted in cotton, 
in reversing the beds, this very manure is thrown on the bed 
where the seeds are sown, enabling the plant to reap early 
benefit at a period, as generally acquiesced in by planters, 
when it requires more support than at any other, in order that 
its early growth and healthy condition may enable it to escape 
the ravages of lice, with which the plant is never attacked until 
enfeebled by cold or some other injurious cause. We are urged 
by many to manure exclusively for cotton. From such I 
think difi'erently. The past year, ten acres were in cotton, 
where a hundred bushels of cotton seed were given to the 
acre, placed in the water furrow, and bedded upon them. The 
result was an increased growth, and moderate increase in 
yield, but not enough to justify such an expenditure of this 
valuable manure. The same year fifty acres were planted in 
cotton that had been grown three preceding years in corn and 
peas, manured each year with cotton seed, as advised, but 
none on it the year it was in cotton. The corn stalks had 
been cut up, and with the pea vines, regularly turned under. 
The land in both cuts was well cultivated, and seasons alike. 
The soil of the ten acres was good, of a mulatto color, whilst 
that of the fifty acres was poor and hilly, with clay near the 
surface. The difference in the yield was fifty per cent, in 
favor of the fifty acre cut. This year I have ten acres planted 
in cotton with a hundred bushels of seed sown broad-cast and 
ploughed in ; also, fifty acres, planted in cotton, which was in 
corn and peas the past year, manured with a hundred bushels 



228 

to tlie acre In tlie drill, but none tliis year ; tlie corn stalks 
cut up in several pieces, and with, tlie pea vines turned under. 
Both cuts of land are similar in quality, and have been culti- 
vated alike with like seasons. The result so far shows that 
the benefit derived from last year's manuring is greatly pre- 
ferable to that of the present year. The stand on the ten 
acres is very imperfect and very irregular in its size, and has 
been much harrassed by lice. The fifty acre cut is a good 
stand, quite regular in its size, has been free from lice, and 
presents altogether a thrifty appearance, and bids fair to 
yield fifty per cent, per acre more than the ten acre cut. 

From these remarks, you will readily perceive that I pre- 
fer manuring with cotton seed for corn, Instead of cotton ; that 
we are better rewarded the second year to succeed it In cot- 
ton, and well compensated the first for our trouble. I do not 
pretend to say that the benefit is altogether attributable to 
the cotton seed, but to the change in the crop, together with 
the advantage of corn stalks and pea vines, restoring the 
original susceptibility in the land to grow and produce good 
cotton. If those who disagree with me will give results from 
a better process of using this valuable manure, I shall be 
greatly obliged. 

Prairie Blount, Miss., 1848. COWLES M. VAIDEN. 

SECTION IX. — FEEDING HOGS WITH COTTON SEED. 

For five or six years in succession, I fed my hogs with raw 
cotton seed. My plan was this : I put out such a quantity 
that each hog would have the measure that a shelled ear of 
corn would fill, of the seed, and gave at the same time an ear 
of corn to each hog. While the larger hogs were eating this, 
the pigs fed more fully on corn in a pen that the large hogs 
could not enter. I am not aware that my hogs, in any in- 



COTTON SEED. 229 

stance, ever sustained any injury from tliis course. They ate 
them freely, and from some comparative experiments, I think 
they kept in better condition than others that had the sam^e 
allowance of corn, without the cotton seed. I say, I think, 
for the experiment was not very carefully made. I have also 
fed them boiled, and again I think without injury. My con- 
clusion is, that with corn, hogs may safely have a small (equal) 
allowance of cotton seed. At the same time I am fully con- 
vinced they are very injurious to pigs ; but managed as above, 
I never noticed any injury. I noticed that the hogs mace- 
rated, and sucked the pulp from the seed, and dropped the 
hull and lint upon the ground — perhaps pigs do not do this. 
Would not hulling free them from any injurious quality ? 
Cannot some one answer ? 



SECTION X. — COTTON SEED. 

Mr. Editor : Will you, or some of your correspondents, 
please inform me what would be the cost of a mill for extract- 
ing the oil from cotton seed ? It is not very certain that it 
would be advisable for a cotton planter to manufacture oil 
from his seed, even if he could make it a profitable business, 
for they constitute one of the most valuable of our manures ; 
but I should like to know what the profit would be. It would, 
at any rate, add to the interest of your columns if you could 
furnish your readers with an article on this subject, stating 
the cost, and modus operandi of manufacturing the oil. 

I should like also to know if any of your subscribers have 
ever made the experiment of feeding hogs upon cotton seed, 
and what was the result. I made the experiment once, or 
rather my hogs did it without my knowledge or consent, of 
feeding them on raw, unrotted seed ; they died in conse- 



230 

quence; but I have no doubt a fine article of food for hogs 

might be prepared from them. 

TETEARCH. 

We have no information upon which we can rely, as to the 
cost of a mill for making oil from the cotton seed, or of the 
profit of the operation. It is a question of interest in a cot- 
ton-growing country, and one which some of our patrons are 
doubtless prepared to answer. We hope they will do so. 
We have often heard of the value of cotton seed when heated 
or partially rotted as food for hogs. We never had much 
faith in the recommendation, and therefore never tried it. It 
was perhaps because we knew that they were good for corn, 
and that corn was, beyond all question, good for hogs. There 
may, however, be more in it than we have imagined, and if so, 
there can be no harm in finding it out. Who can tell ? — [Ed. 



SECTION' XL — FEEDING SHEEP ON COTTON SEED. 

Messrs. Editors : — Experience and observation has pre- 
pared me to believe that sheep which are fed on cotton seed 
are more subject to the rot and other diseases than when fed 
on other food. For the last eight years my sheep were win- 
tered entirely on cotton seed ; during the most of that time 
they were affected with a most distressing cough and running 
at the nose, which foretold their condition ; and after they 
were turned to grass in the spring, running at large, they 
continued to cough and run at the nose, and when the weather 
became warm, would sicken and die in large numbers. This 
season I have fed entirely on fodder and oat straw, which 
they eat kindly, and in keeping them in this way I find they 
are now healthy and sound, free from cough and as clean 
about the nose as a goat. 



COTTON SEED AS FOOD FOR STOCK. 231 

Now, Messrs. Editors, if cotton seed feed produces the 
above stated facts, cannot some of your numerous correspond- 
ents, or Dr. Lee, enlighten the readers of the Cultivator on 
the subject. 

1 am, with respect, yours, &c. 

Raytoicn, Ga., Feb. 1855. AARON W. GRIER. 



SECTION XII. — COTTON SEED AS FOOD FOR STOCK. 

Although cows, sheep, and hogs are very fond of cotton 
seed as a food, still I regard them as a bad and very unsafe 
article of provender. They will certainly kill hogs, grown 
ones as well as small ones, when eaten in an unrotted, or un- 
cooked state. Some persons contend, however, that if well 
rotted, or cooked, they make an excellent article of food. 
From my experience and observation, I am satisfied that they 
are not good food under any circumstances. They are worse 
for hogs than for any other stock. Hence I never give them to 
my swine. As a substitute for hay, fodder, shucks or straw, 
I frequently give them to my cows and sheep through the 
winter. But I would never use them to feed any stock what- 
ever, unless on account of a scarcity of the foregoing articles. 

J. A. T. 

SECTION XIII. — THE COTTON TRADE, FROM 1825 TO 1850. 
BY PROFESSOR M'KAY, UNIVERSITY OP GEORGIA. 

Instead of our annual review of the cotton trade, for a 
single year, we propose to extend our examinations back to a 
longer period. For this purpose we have collected, in our 
statistical tables, the production, consumption, stocks, and 
prices of cotton, for each year from 1840 to 1850 ; and, for the 



232 COTTON planter's manual. 

more important particulais of tlie trade, we have gone back as 
far as 1825, This period of twenty-five years we have divided 
into intervals of five years, and given the average for each, 
noting the rate of increase or decrease for each country sepa- 
rately. By taking average results, we get clear of the fluctua- 
tions arising from short crops, and other disturbing causes, and 
are able to observe the general progress, free from those tem- 
porary variations which prevent our judging accurately the 
real changes that are taking place. In this review, we shall 
see a very prominent place assigned to our country. The 
United States is now, not only the largest producer, but the 
largest consumer, of cotton : our production has advanced with 
such rapid strides, that we have distanced all competitors: 
the cotton goods worn by our people exceed now the amount 
used by Great Britain and all her dependencies in the four 
quarters of the globe; and the demands of our manufactories 
have increased with much greater rapidity than those of any 
other country in the world. In the table of supplies, (Table I., 
at the end of this article,) we may observe, that, while other 
countries have been nearly stationary, our production has ad- 
vanced with great rapidity. In twenty years, our average 
crop has increased from 848,000 bales, to 2,351,000, or nearly 
three hundred per cent. If the period of twenty -five years, 
from 1825 to 1850, be divided into five equal intervals, the 
increase for each will be found to be 27, 37, 38, and 15 per 
cent. In the same time, the production of all other countries 
has only risen from 383,000 to 440,000 bales; having abso- 
lutely declined, in the last five years, over 16 per cent. In 
the first period of five years, the crop of the United States 
constituted 68 per cent, of the whole; in the second, 74; in 
the third, 77; in the fourth, 80; and, in the fifth, 84 per cent, 
of the whole. As our bags have increased very much in 
weight, and are now much larger than those of other countries, 



THE COTTON TRADE. 233 

our advance has been still greater, and our rank still higher 
than these figures indicate. If the table of consumption (Table 
II.) be examined, it will appear that our progress is none the 
less rapid, in comparison with other countries. In the same 
twenty years, the deliveries to our manufactories have ad- 
vanced 325 per cent., viz., from 127,000 bales to 539,000; 
while, in the same time, the advance of Great Britain has been 
only 125 per cent., viz., from 653,000 bales to 1,472,000. In 
each one of these periods, our rate of progress has been more 
than twice as rapid as hers ; and though the absolute amount 
of our consumption is yet far below that consumed by the 
English manufacturers, yet, in the last five years, our increase 
has been 176,000 bales, while theirs has been only 180,000. 
At present, our consumption is 37 per cent, of the English, 
while twenty years ago it was only 19 per cent. 

France, during all this period, has remained nearly station- 
ary. Twenty years ago, her consumption was 257,000 bales; 
now, it is only 363,000. In the last five years, she has gone 
backward, the decline having amounted to 58,000 bales. From 
1825 to 1830, the deliveries to her manufactories were double 
those of the United States ; now, they are 33 per cent, less 
than ours. Her rank, compared with Great Britain, and with 
nearly every other country in Europe, has also declined. In 
Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Russia, the increase 
has been nearly as rapid as in the United States. In the last 
five years, their advance (Table III.) has been 46 per cent.; 
ours, 49 per cent. Their rank in the cotton-consuming coun- 
tries is yet low, but their rapid progress will soon bring them 
to a more important position. At present, their consumption 
is 34 per cent, of that of Great Britain, and the time is not far 
distant when, taken together, will equal her. Twenty years 
ago, the comparative rank of the United States, Great Britain, 
France, and the rest of the continent, was in proportion to the 



234 COTTON planter's manual. 

numbers 11, 55, 22, and 12; in the last five years, the per- 
centage of each has been 19, 51, 13, and 17. If France be 
left out of the comparison, the rank of each, twenty years ago, 
was as 13, 70, and 17 ; now, it is as 21, 59, and 20. Although 
Great Britain requires for her manufactories more than half of 
all the cotton worked up in Europe and America, the amount 
actually used by her people, including all that is exported to 
India, British America, Australia, and all the colonial depen- 
dencies of Great Britain, is less than the amount used in the 
United States. This has been shown to be true for the last 
four years ; and the present year, although it exhibits an ap- 
parent decline in our home consumption, forms no exception 
to this result. The enlarged imports of cotton goods imported 
into our seaports, compensate, in part, for the falling off of the 
wants of our factories. If we compare the progress in the 
demand and supply, it will be seen that, during the last five 
years, the consumption has increased much faster than the 
production — the one having advanced 19 per cent., and the 
other only 9. This might be inferred from the decline in the 
stocks ; but it will be more satisfactory to consider the average 
production and consumption of the last ten years. The aver- 
age amount taken by the manufacturers, from 1840 to 1845, 
was 2,414,000 bales, and, from 1845 to 1850, 2,869,000 bales, 
showing an increase of ,465,000 bales ; while the supply ad- 
vanced from 2,561,000 bales to 2,791,000, with an increase of 
only 230,000 bales. When it is remembered that the last 
period embraces the year 1848. when, from the revolutions in 
Europe, the consumption declined over 600,000 bales, and the 
years 1845 and 1849, when the American crop so far exceeded 
its usual average, this result will be more striking and impor- 
tant. The table of stocks (Table IV.) confirms and establishes 
this same result. At the end of 1844, the cotton on hand in 
Europe was 1,101,000 bales; at the end of 1849, it was only 
646,000 bales. 



THE COTTON TRADE. 235 

It may be further observed, that the increase in the supply 
during the last five years, has been slower than the natural 
increase of laborers. The advance in the one has been only 
9 per cent., and in the other 12 or 13. As many new hands 
have been brought to the Southern States during this period, 
the rate of increase in the working force of the cotton-growing 
States has been still greater than 12 or 13 per cent. This 
excess has occurred at no former period. From 1825 to 1850, 
the increments for each period of five years have been 18, 32, 
33, and 9 per cent. ; always above the increments of popula- 
tion, except in the last interval. It follows, from this, that 
labor and capital have found other modes of employment more 
attractive and profitable than the raising of cotton. It is well 
known that this has been to some extent true in the United 
States, but it has been more evident and striking in India and 
Brazil. In these countries, the crop has declined 16 per cent. 
in the last five years. From Brazil, it has declined regularly 
for the last twenty years ; and the recent advance in coffee 
will tend still more to divert labor from the production of cot- 
ton. The abolition of the discriminating duty in favor of East 
India cotton, by Sir Robert Peel, and the very low prices 
which have recently prevailed, have not only stopped any in- 
crease in the imports of Surat and Madras, but turned the cur- 
rent in the opposite direction. The advance in the fifteen 
years before 1845, was 10, 80, and 60 per cent., in each inter- 
val of five years ; but, from 1845 to 1850, the decline has been 
24 per cent. It may fairly be deduced from this, that the 
prices of the last five years have not afforded sufficient en- 
couragement to production, and that the planters may now 
look for a permanent improvement in prices. The table of 
prices (Table V.) 'shows that for the last five years the average 
price at the seaports of the United States has been seven cents 
and three mills ; and it may be expected, with confidence, that 



236 COTTON planter's manual. 

they will not rule so low hereafter — that the-«iverage rates will 
not merely experience a temporary rise, as if caused by the 
short crop and the small stocks of the present year, but a per- 
manent and continued advance. 

The table of stocks (Table lY.) represents the amounts on 
hand in the seaports of Europe continually increasing from 
1840 to 1850, while during the four years ending 1849, they 
have been nearly stationary. Comparing them with the wants 
of the manufacturers, as is done in the column which contains 
the number of weeks that the stocks would supply the con- 
sumption of the factories, the supply was a trifle lower at the 
close of 1849, after the receipt of the largest crop ever brought 
to market, than it had been during the last ten years. The 
number of bales was a little greater than at the close of 1848; 
but the time this stock would supply the wants of the manu- 
facturers, was a little less. After this review of the history of 
the trade in cotton for the last ten years, if we remember that 
the production of 1850 has been much below the average of 
the last five years, and that the prospects of the next year's 
crop are but a little better, it is evident that the present ad- 
vance in cotton is founded upon no speculative basis, but on 
the unchangeable laws of supply and demand. Two short 
crops are succeeding each other, while the stocks on hand are 
very much reduced. To this it may be added, that everything 
is. favorable to a large consumption. Peace everywhere pre- 
vails, except in the unimportant Duchies of Schleswig Holstein. 
Money is abundant, and the currency everywhere undisturbed. 
Food is very cheap. The present harvest of Europe, as well 
as the last, is much above an average. Thus, while stocks 
are low, and the supply small, the demand is large. Prices, 
therefore, must maintain a high level, unless commotions in 
France, or some unforeseen event of commanding importance, 
interferes with the regular operation of commerce. In con- 



THE COTTON TRADE. 237 

sidering the supply and demand of the coming year, we must, 
therefore, base all our estimates on high prices. The receipts 
from India and Brazil, and the consumption in Europe and 
America, will all be affected by this fact. If the advance were 
slight, it would not experience any sensible check ; but when 
the price has risen to its present rate, (13|- cents for middling 
fair, Savannah, October 23d,) an advance of 85 per cent, over 
the average of the last five years, the amount purchased even 
in our country may be expected to decline. The supply for 
1851 will probably exceed that of 1850, not only from the 
United States, but from India and Brazil. 

The past season here has been unfavorable for the growth 
of cotton ; but its disasters, especially in the West, have not 
been as severe as in the preceding year. In South Carolina 
and Georgia, there will be a decided decline. The late cold 
spring, and the long drought in June and July, left the plants 
small, and the bolls few and scattering. The severe storm on 
the 24th of August blew out on the ground much open cotton, 
and prostrated and twisted the stalks so much, that there has 
been no late crop of forms to mature in October. September 
was a beautiful season for gathering, and so was much of 
October. There are some plantations where the crop is very 
fine. The hot summer favored a rapid growth, and repaired, 
in part, the injury done by a late spring. The general drought 
was, at some places, relieved by local showers, which brought 
out some superior crops. The amount of land planted was 
greater than ever. The receipts at Charleston and Savannah 
will also be increased by the extension of the Georgia Eail- 
road to the Tennessee river. Were it not for this last cause, a 
falling off of 100,000 bales might be anticipated. With this, 
the deficiency will not probably exceed 70,000 or 80,000 ; and 
the receipts of these two ports may be expected to reach 
650,000 bales. From Alabama, the reports have not been so 



238 COTTON planter's manual. 

disastrous. The spring was late, and tlie stand poor ; but the 
dry summer prevented the ravages of the worm, which had 
done so much damage the preceding year. The river floods 
had also done harm the last season; and these they have 
escaped. The prairie-lands have not suffered so much with 
rust as before. On the Tombigbee, and also on the Black 
Warrior, the prospects of the planters are very much above 
those of last year. On the Alabama, the promise is about the 
same as last year. Still the disasters have been severe, and 
the crop will be below an average. An increase of 90,000 or 
100,000 bales in the receipts at Mobile, including the Mont- 
gomery shipments to New Orleans may, with confidence, be 
anticipated. From Florida, a slight increase may be looked 
for. The amount of land planted has been considerably en- 
larged, and the drought has not been as general as in the 
eastern part of the cotton region. At New Orleans and in 
Texas, a gain may be looked for. The failure last year was 
so great, that it is almost impossible to expect a like deficiency 
again. From Louisiana, Arkansas, and the greater part of 
Mississippi, the reports have been better than last year. The 
early frost of October 6th, injured not a little of the cotton as 
far north as Memphis ; but in general, even in Tennessee, the 
plant remained green and flourishing, till the general frost at 
the close of the month. The production of Tennessee and 
North Alabama will fall below that of last year, and a portion 
of this will not reach New Orleans. The crop was every- 
where backward, but the hot, dry summer helped to repair 
this damage, and by keeping off the caterpillar and boll-worm, 
permitted the forms to mature. The severe storms that did 
so much harm in Florida and the Atlantic States, did not ex- 
tend so far to the west. The season for gathering has been 
very fine, and the time of frost late enough to mature nearly 
every boll that could make cotton. The average receipts at 



THE COTTON TEADE. 239 

New Orleans, for four years past, has been 943,000 bales ; and 
this period includes two short and two fall crops. For the 
present year, I would estimate them at 850,000 bales. Com- 
bining these estimates, the whole supply from the United 
States will amount to 2,200,000 bales (see Table VI.), which 
is about 100,000 in advance of the last five years. The re- 
ceipts from India have increased very much during the pre- 
sent year, under the stimulus of high prices, and they are 
destined to advance still more for the coming season. 

The purchases now making in Bombay for the English 
market are reported to be large; and when the new crop 
begins to arrive at the seaports, the current will turn still 
more strongly towards England. Not only is their production 
enlarged by high prices in Europe, but a larger portion of the 
crop is diverted from China, and from domestic use, for the 
Western markets. 

The average imports into Great Britain for the last three 
years have been 211,000 bales ; but for the first nine months 
of the present year, they have reached 128,000 bales for 
Liverpool alone ; and for the whole year, for all the ports, they 
will probably reach 300,000 bales. For 1851 not less than 
325,000 bales may be anticipated. This is higher, much higher 
than any former year. The year 1841 was the largest before 
1850, and then the amount was 275,000 bales. The high 
prices that are now prevailing, and that are likely to prevail 
for the present season, authorize us to expect an increase, even 
over the present year. (Table VII.) 

From Brazil, Egypt, and other places, an advance over the 
usual average may also be looked for. The average imports 
into England from 1845 to 1849, were 175,000 bales ; but for 
the present year, the amount will exceed 260,000 bales, and 
for 1851 will be still larger. (Table VIII.) If we estimate 
them at 275,000, the whole supply from all these sources 



240 COTTOX planter's manual. 

(Table IX.) will reach 2,800,000 bales. In reference to the 
consumption, we may remark, that the purchases for our home 
manufactories have declined during the present year over 
30,000 bales. The high price of the raw material, the low 
duties on foreign goods, and the immense imports of cotton 
fabrics from England, have caused this retrograde movement. 
In 1849, there was a falling off of 14,000 bales, so that our 
consumption is now 44,000 bales below that of 1848. Doubt- 
less the stocks in the hands of the manufacturers are very 
small, and a slight advance in goods would set all the mills at 
work again. The universal prosperity of the country forbids 
us to expect the extension, or even the continuance of this de- 
pression. For 1851, 1 would estimate the demand at 500,000 
bales, which is 11,000 above the consumption of the present 
year (Table X.), and 13,000 below the average of the last 
year. In Great Britain the falling off in the purchases of the 
manufactures have been very slight (Table XI.), and as the 
reported purchases last year were 80,000 or 90,000 bales 
above the actual deliveries to the manufacturers, the real de- 
ficiency is less than the aj)parent. For the present year, the 
consumption in Great Britain will not be below 1,500,000 
bales, against 1,588,000 in 1846, and 1,491,000 in 1848. 
Everything has been favorable to a large consumption, except 
the price of the raw material. Money has been abundant — 
food of all kinds cheap — and labor well rewarded. These ele- 
ments of prosperity have not been confined to Great Britain, 
and therefore her exports of cotton-goods have been unprece- 
dentedly large. The home and foreign demand being both 
good, the factories have run fall time, in spite of the high 
price of cotton. This never occurred before, and cannot be 
expected again, with any considerable confidence. At every 
former period, an advance in the raw material has checked 
the demands of the factories, and lessened the purchases of 



THE COTTON TRADE. 241 

the consumers. For the coming year, everytliing is fully as 
favorable as the last ; and if. these favorable tendencies have 
counteracted the tendency of high prices in the raw material, 
it will be proper to expect the same for 1851 as for 1850. 
We may, therefore, set down 1,500,000 bales as the probable 
English consumption for the next year. 

In France there has been a decided decline (Table XII.) 
in the deliveries to the manufacturers. Our exports have 
fallen from 368,000 bales to 290,000, and the stocks on hand 
the 1st of October, were almost exactly the same as last 
year. The purchases at Havre for the first nine months of 
the present year have been 249,000 bales, against 290,000 in 
1849. From these figures we cannot estimate the consump- 
tion of American cotton for the present year higher than 
300,000 bales, against 351,000 for 1849. No advance on this 
can be expected for the next year, nor is there any reason to 
anticipate any appreciable decline. For the rest of Europe, 
we have the exports from the United States for the present 
year, 194,000 bales, and the exports from Liverpool up to 
October 11th, 193,000 bales. The whole English exports of 
1849 were 254,000 bales; and as their amount on October 
12th was 21,000 more this year than last, the whole exports 
for the year from all the ports will probably reach 275,000 
bales, making the total supply from these two countries of 
469,000 bales. As the stocks on hand on the continent last 
year were very low, it is impossible to reduce them much 
lower. They are now, however, at several ports, lower than 
last year, so that the consumption will probably exceed 469,000 
bales. As this is a decline of over 100,000 bales from 1849, 
it is not to be expected that so low a limit can be reached 
for the year 1851. Heretofore their progress has been for- 
ward and rapid ; and were it not for high prices, this would 
continue. If we estimate their wants for 1851 at 500,000 
11 



242 coTTox planter's manual. 

bales, we liave the total consumption (Table XIII.) of 
2,800,000 bales' — the same as tlie supply. As the stocks are 
now much lower than last year (Table XIV.) and as they 
were then very lovf , they will bear no further reduction with- 
out a material advance in prices. On the contrary, any de- 
cline in price would immediately permit the consumption to 
expand, not only in France and the rest of the continent, but 
even in England. We may expect, therefore, that the present 
high range of prices will be maintained. 

The review that has been taken of the supply and the de- 
mand, shows that the present advance in cotton is the result 
of no speculative movement, but that it is based on the immu- 
table laws of trade. The long prevalence of low prices 
has stimulated consumption and diminished production, until 
the stocks on hand have fallen to an extremely low limit. 
Exactly at this point an unfavorable season has lessened the 
crop, and an abundant harvest, and every other element of 
general prosperity, have encouraged the demand. We con- 
gratulate the planters on the handsome returns they are 
receiving for their crops, and we may extend our congratula- 
tions to the whole country, for what benefits them is a benefit 
to all. 



THE COTTON TRADE. 



243 



Table I. — Supply of Cotton, {in thousand hales.) 







s 


.a 


2 


« P 


r« 


5 . 










II 


If 




II 






'is 


13 

3 




Yeabs. 






P 


II 


II 


il 




"3 
■3 






t3 




1 


II 


M-9 


2d 


HP 


^ 


1840 


2178 


50 


2228 


216 


146 


111 


474 


2701 


1841 


1635 
1684 
2379 


55 
55 
60 


1690 
1739 
2439 


275 
255 
182 


166 
124 
165 


128 
166 
176 


569 
545 
523 


2259 

2284 
29G2 


1842 


1843.... 




1844 ... 




2030 
2395 
2101 
1779 

2348 
2729 

838 


60 
65 
70 
80 
90 
100 
10 


2090 
2460 
2171 
1859 

2433 
2829 
848 


134 
150 

95 
254 
228 
182 

73 


197 
201 
155 
135 

137 
245 
211 


80 
105 

69 
122 

36 
111 

99 


511 

461 
819 

431 
401 
538 

382 


2601 
2921 
2490 
2340 
2839 
3367 
1231 


1846 


1846 


1847 


1848 ... . 


1849 


Average 


from 1825 to 1830 




" 1830 to 1835 


1055 


20 


1075 


81 


186 


108 


375 


1450 


" 


" 1835 to 1840 


1440 


85 


1475 


144 


196 


104 


444 


1919 


« 


" 1840 to 1845 


1981 


56 


2037 


232 


160 


132 


524 


2561 


(c 


" 1845 to 1850 


2270 


81 


2351 


177 


175 


88 


440 


2791 


Increase 


per cent, in 20 years. . 


171 




177 


142 


17 




15 


117 


" 


" 15 years.. 


115 




119 


118 


8 




17 


99 


(( 


10 years.. 


58 




59 


23 


11 




1 


40 


" 


" 5 years . . 


15 




15 


24 


9 


.... 


16 


^ 



Table II. — Consumption of United States, Great Britain, France, and of 
Europe and America, {in thousand bales.) 



i 

Ybabs. 


si 

CO o 

il 

PI 


u 

■as 


5 a" 


ti 
Is 




o 
H 




1840 


295 
297 

268 
325 
847 
389 
423 
428 
532 
518 
117 
175 
249 

458 

290 

161 

91 

59 


845 
852 
823 

454 
493 
508 
622 
618 
127 
195 
275 
363 
539 
825 
176 
96 
49 


1271 

1158 

1207 

1385 

1438 

1574 

1574 

1131 

1491 

1588 

653 

876 

1069 

1292 

1472 

125 

68 

38 

14 


374 
368 
364 
851 
335 
851 
860 
252 
276 
351 


440 
422 
442 
409 
392 
419 
403 
293 
303 
399 
257 
269 
349 
421 
863 
41 
35 
4 
14 


2056 

1932 

1972 

2179 

2237 

2447 

2470 

1932 

2416 

2605 

1037 

1340 

1693 

2076 

2374 

129 

77 

40 

14 


2370 

2252 
2310 
2573 
2564 
2918 
2968 
2296 
2901 
3264 
1187 
1540 
1948 
2414 
2869 
142 
86 
48 
19 


1841 :... 


1842 . 


1843 


1844 


1845 ... 


1846 


1847 


1848 


1849 


Average from 1825 to 1830 


" " 1830 to 1835 








" " 1835 to 1840 


" " 1840 to 1845 


" " 1845 to 1850 


Increase per cent, in 20 years 

" " 15 years 

10 years 

5year8 



2M 



COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



Table III. — Consumption of Europe and America, omitting England, 
France, and United Slates, {in thousand bales.) 



Years. 


II 


i-i 

h 
^1 




1 


00 

1 


1 

a 
© 


1340 


182 

106 
132 
194 
144 
85 
205 
169 
255 
822 


123 
116 
138 
119 
141 
122 
194 
215 
192 
254 


49 
74 
88 
118 
23 
87 
26 

% 

68 


72 

112 

88 

108 

145 

126 

99 

26 

87 

58 


112 
88 
108 
145 
26 
99 
26 
87 
53 


814 
320 
838 
394 
237 
471 
498 
404 
485 
659 
838 
495 
46 


1841 


1S42 


1843 


1S44 


18^ 


1840 


184T 


1848 ... 


1849 


A VPracro fwiTTl 1 840 t(l 1 84.'l 


41 " 1845 to 1850 




Increase per cent, in five years 





Table IY. — Stock 31st December, {in thousand bales.) 









L 






•h 




h< 






a 


a^ 






^ 


^ 


s 




















Ykabs 


33 


W 


l!i 


t 


i 

c3 




t 


u 




> 


C3 




W 


fH 


'S," 


1 


1 


1840 


8(16 
430 
457 
654 
745 
8.S5 
489 
364 
893 
468 


464 
538 
561 
786 
897 
1057 
547 
451 
498 
559 


IS 
24 
24 
9 
82 
35 
18 
16 
17 
18 


80 
90 
109 
101 
53 
52 
25- 
43 
20 
38 


97 

185 

138 

125 

78 

65 

47 

53 

81 

49 


112 

88 

108 

145 

126 

99 

26 

87 

58 

38 


673 

761 

807 

1056 

1101 

1221 

620 

591 

587 

646 


17 
21 
21 
25 
26 
26 
13 
17 
13 
13 


1841 


1842 


1843 


1844 


1845 


1846 


1847 


1848 


1849 



THE COTTON TRADE. 



245 



Table Y. — Amount, Value, and Price of American Cotton. 





.2 


03 
1 


i 


^1 


1 






Bi 


H,§ 


M* 


g| 


^^• 


'S p< 


Tbaes. 


.sg 


.s| 




•O'^ 


•si 






o o 


§=3 
'3 


o 


o^ 

m 








^ 


!> 


PM 




P- 


3^ 


1840 , 


744 
530 
577 


64 
54 

48 


8-6 

10-2 

81 


891 

684 
704 


77 
70 
58 


6 

5f 


1841 


1842 


1843 . , .... 


817 
664 

873 
548 
527 
814 
1027 
219 


49 
54 
52 
43 
53 
62 
66 
23 


6-0 
8-1 
6-0 
7-9 

10-1 
7 '6 
6-5 

12-8 


988 
857 
109 
901 
771 
1011 
1174 
288 


59 
69 
61 
71 

78 
77 
76 
87 


4f 

41 

^ 

6f 


1844 


1845 


1846 


1847 


1848 


1849 




" " 1830 to 1835 


312 
446 
666 


34 
64 
54 


10-9 
14-4 
81 


387 
560 

825 


42 
81 
67 


i 


" " 1835 to 1840 


" " 1840 to 1845 


" " 1845tol850 


754 


55 


7-3 


972 


71 


H 



Table VI. — United States Crop. 



Texas, bales 


PvEOEIPTS. 


ESTIMATE. 


1848. 


1849. 


1850. 


1851. 


40,000 
1,191,000 
436,000 
154,000 
255,000 
262,000 

10,000 


39,000 
1,094,000 
509,000 
200,000 
391,000 
458,000 

28,000 


31,000 
782,000 
351,000 
181,000 
344,000 
384,000 

24,000 


lllllll 




Mobile. 


Florida 


Greorsria . 




Other places 


Total 


2,348,000 


2,729,000 


2,097,000 


2,200,000 



Table YII. 
English Imports from East Indies. 

Eemarks. 



1835 to 1840, average, 
1840 to 1845, « 
1845 to 1850, " 
1843, Oct. 6,toL'pool 

1849, Oct. 5, " 

1850, Oct. 4, " 
1848, whole year, 
1849, 

1850, est. whole year. 
1851, 



Imports. 

Bales. 
144,000 
232,000 
177,000 

. 93,000 

69,000 

128,000 

223,000 

182,000 

, 800,000 
825,000 



High prices. 
Chinese war. 
Peace, low prices 
Moderate prices. 
Low prices. 
High prices. 
Moderate prices. 
Low prices. 
High prices. 
High prices. 



Table YIII. 

English Imports from Brazil, 
Egypt, etc. 

^ About Ist Oct. Whole yr. 

Tears. Liverpool. Gt. Brit. 

Bales. Bales. 

1846, 121,000 155,000 

1847, 75,000 135,000 

1848, 94.000 1.37,000 

1849, 178,000 245,000 

1850, 203,000 260,000 

1851, 275,000 



246 



COTTON PLANTERS MANUAL. 



Table IX. — Sapphj of Cc: 



1849. 

Crop of United States 2,729,000 

English imports from East Indies 182,000 

" " otlier places 245,000 

Total from these sources 3,156,000 



1850. 

Bales. 

2,097,000 
800,000 
270,000 



1851. 

Bales. 

2,200,000 
825,000 
275,000 



2,667,000 2,800,000 



Table X. — United States Consumption. 

Amount Average for Inc. per cent. 

Consumed. 8 years. per annum. 

1846 423,000 386,000 9-0 

1847 428,000 413,000 7-0 

1848 532,000 461,000 11-5 

1849 518,000 493,000 7'0 

1850 488,000 515,000 4-0 



Inc. per cent 
for 3 years. 



Table XI. — Deliveries to the Trade at Liverpool. 



1849. 

Bales. 

March 8 324,000 

April 12 433,000 

May 10 562,000 

June 21 748,000 

July6 835,000 

August 9 .. 1,037,000 

September 6 1,141,000 

October 4 1,220,000 

November 11 1,287,000 



Consumption 
each week. 

Ba-les. 

36,000 
30,929 
31,222 
81,167 
80,926 
32,206 
81,694 
30,500 
31,390 



1850. 
Bales. 
227,000 
338,000 
501,000 
672,000 
742,000 
907,000 
981,000 
1,886,000 
1,116,000 



Consumption 
each week. 
Bales. 
25,222 
24,143 
27,833 
28,000 
28,222 
28,942 
28,029 
27,150 
27,219 



Table XII. — Deliveries to the Trade at Havre. 



1849. 

Bales. 

May 1 120,141 

Julyl 193,971 

August 1 243,040 

September 1 279,541 

October 1 290,585 



Consumption 
each month. 

Bales. 

30,035 
32,328 
34,720 
87,442 



1850. 

Bales. 
104,728 
167,653 
200,650 
332,190 
249,707 



Consumption 
each montla. 

Bales. 

26,182 
27,942 
28,664 
29,024 



Table XIII. — Consumption. 

1849. 1850. 1851. 
Great Brit, all kinds 1,588,000 1,500,000 1,500,000 
France, of Am. cotton 351,000 800,000 800,000 
Therest oftheCont't 596,000 470,000 500,000 



Total 



2,535,000 2,270,000 2,300,000 



-Hunt's Merchants' Mag;azine. 



Table XIY. 

Stocks at Recent Dates. 

1849. 1850. 

Biles. Bales. 

Liverpool, Oct 12 . . . 583,000 482,000 

Havre, Oct. 9 .... 46,000 46.000 

United States, Sept 1, 155,000 168,000 

Hamburg, Oct 1 5,000 2,000 

Total 788,000 698,000 



COTTON STALK HEMP. 247 

SECTION XIV. — COTTON STALK HEMP. 
From the Madison Family Tisitor, 

Our readers will be interested in the extract which follows, 
from a letter of Col. John B. Walker, to the Editor of this 
paper, under date New Orleans, Nov. 11th. The Cotton 
Stalk Hemp promises to be an article of quite considerable 
importance. 

*•' I went yesterday with Gen. Gordon and Lieut. Governor 
Horton, of Texas, to see the Cotton Harvest Gatherer, and 
the Cotton Stalk Hemp. The first article is intended to pick 
cotton from the boll and put it in a bag. This I regard as 
worthless — not a humbug, because it will not likely deceive 
any one but the inventor : farmers will not be caught with it. 
The Cotton Stalk Hemp is, in my opinion, worthy of the 
highest consideration. It has the color of the Gunny or East 
India bagging, and the fibre is as strong as that of the hemp. 
It is prepared by knocking off the lateral limbs of the cotton 
stalk, then cutting down the stalk and burying it in a plough 
furrow in the field, where it lies covered up for fifteen days. 
It is then taken up and broken, as you break hemp, and this 
clears it of the woody fibre, and it is fit for spinning in any 
way, either by machinery or by hand. Again, it is better 
prepared by sowing the cotton broadcast and thickly ; this 
causes the stalk to run up in height and clear of lateral limbs, 
more nearly resembling the hemp weed. 

" The discoverer of this process of making cotton stalk hemp 
is a Frenchman, of Baton Bouge, by the name of John Blanc. 
He has been four years engaged in experiments, and has now 
just obtained his patent right from the Patent Office. 

" I was happy to meet our old county friend, Mr. Wm. J. 
Vasoon, at the place where this cotton stalk hemp is exhibited, 



248 COTTON planter's manual. 

and see lilm test the strengtli of the fibre. When we shall 
get the cotton wool, and then the bark from the stalk for our 
bagging and rope, and the oil from the seed, and the cotton 
seed hulls converted to some practical purposes, and the cot- 
ton stalk roots manufactured into patent medicine as an elixir 
to perpetuate the e?;istence of the negro who cultivates the 
plant, we can then imagine that it has its true, intrinsic and 
inestimable value. It will then be worth a war on the part 
of the South to sustain and defend it, and claim a place for it 
and its cultivators in any reputable portion of this earth." 



CHAPTER YII. 



LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TRANSMIT- 
TING A STATEMENT RESPECTING THE TARIFF DUTIES 
AND CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO 
AMERICAN COTTON. 



Department of State, ) 

Washington, May 30, 1856. f 

Sir : In compliance with tlie resolution of the House of 
Representatives of the 12th instant, " that the Secretary of 
State he requested to communicate to this House, in tabular 
form, such information as may be in possession of the Depart- 
ment of State respecting the tariff duties and custom-house 
regulations applicable to American cotton in the principal 
commercial countries ; also, tabular comparative statements 
showing, 1st. The quantities of cotton exported from the 
United States to the principal commercial countries, respect- 
ively, and the aggregate amount of duties derived therefrom ; 
2d. The quantities of cotton imported into Great Britain, 
France, and Spain, respectively, and the countries whence 
imported ; 3d. The quantities exported by Great Britain to all 
countries, respectively ; and 4th. The quantities and values 
of cotton manufactures and yarns exported from Great Britain 
and the "United States ; respectively, to all countries ; eacli of 
these statements embracing a period of five years, from 1851 
to 1855, both inclusive, or for so much of said period as au- 

11^ [249] 



250 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

thentic data are attainable ; together with such other general 

information respecting the cotton trade of the United States 

as may be deemed pertinent to the purport of this resolution," 

I have the honor to transmit the accompanying papers. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

W. L. MAECY. 
Hon. N. P. Banks, Jr., 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Statistical Office, May 28, 1856. 

Sir : I have the honor to submit to you, herewith, an an- 
swer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 
12th instant, requesting certain information on the subject of 
the cotton trade, with the preparation of which I was charged. 
The subject has been treated in detail in the report on the 
commercial relations of the United States with all foreign 
nations, recently transmitted from this office, and now in course 
of printing. 

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient 

servant, EDMUND FLAGG, Superintendent. 

Hon. W. L. Marcy, 

Secretary of State. 



TARIFF DUTIES. 



251 



I. — Statement respecting the tariff duties and custom-house 
regulations applicable to American cotton in the principal 
commercial countries. 



COUNTRIES. 

G-reat Britain, 
France, . . 



Spain, 



Russia, .... 
Bremen, .... 
Sardinia, .... 
Belgium, .... 
Austria, .... 
Sweden and Norway, 



LBS. 

220, 

101, 

36, 
Ad val.. 



Mexico, 

Hamburg, . . . 
Holland, . . . . 
Two Sicilies, . . 
British N. A. possess" 
Denmark, . . . . 
Portugal, .... 
Tuscany, . . . . 
Papal States, . . 
Cuba, 



101, 
Ad. val.. 



101, 



74-86, 
101, 



RATES OF DUTY. 

Free. 

In national vessels, $3 72 ; in 

foreign vessels, $6 48.* 
In national vessels, 79|- cents ; 

in foreign vessels, $1 25. 
18f cents, 
f of 1 per cent. 
Free. 
Free. 
Free. 
In Sweden, free ; in Norway, 

nearly \ cent per pound. 
$1 50. 

^ of 1 per cent. 
Free. 



192-05, $8. 



Free. 

Free. 

2 1-5 cents. 

Free. 

10 cents 

In national vessels, 19|-; in 

foreign vessels, 27^ per ct. 

on a valuation of $5. 



* By the treaty of 1822 United States vessels are equalized with French 
vessels in the direct importation into France of articles the growth, manu- 
facture, or produce of the United States. 



252 



COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



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TARIFF DUTIES. 



253 



III. — Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cotton im- 
ported into Great Britain, and the countries whence imported, for a 
period of five years, from 1851 to 1855, both inclusive.* 



Years. 



Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain from 



U. States. Brazil. Egypt.t E. Indies.tiW. Ind.t EVhere.'All countries 



1851. 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 



596,638,962 
765,630,544 
658,451,796 
722,151,860 
679,264,096 



19,339,104 
26,506,144 
24,190.628 
19,703,600 
24,577,952 



16,950,525:122,626,976 446,529 
4S,058,640i 84,922,432 703,696 
28,353,574181,848,160 344,060 
23,353,120 119,829.152 205,072 
32,622,688 145,218,976'No data. 



1,377,653 757,379,749 

3,960,9921 929,782,448 

2,078,562! 895,266,780 

2,090,800 887,383,104 

8,476,160] 890,159,872 



Aggregate 3,422,136,758'114,317,423'149,388,547 654,445,696;l,699,357il7,9S4,1674,859,921,953 
Average.. 684,427,3511 22,863,485! 29,867,709 130,889,139:$ 424,S39| 3,596,833| 871,984,390 



* Made up from British official authorities. The commercial year in England begins 
January 1 ; in the United States, July 1 ; hence seeming discrepancies in figures for ap- 
parently the same period of time. 

t Egypt includes Turkey, Syria, and the Mediterranean generally; the East Indies 
include British India generally ; the West India islands helonging to Great Britain, and 
British Guiana. 

X Four years. 

lY. — Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cotton im- 
ported into France, and the countries whence imported, for a period of 
five years, from 1851 to 1855, both inclusive.- 



Tears. 


Pounds of cotton imported into France from 


United States. 


Elsewhere. 


All countries. 


Value. 1 


1851 


127,418,053 
171,235,021 
178,608,904 
174,929,557 


19,083.981 

+17,742;078 

19,537,722 

15,319,242 


146,402,014 
188,977,099 
198,146,626 

190 248,799 


$21,204,000 
27,528,000 
28,830,000 
27,900,000 


1852 . . 


1853 

1854 


:j:1855 








652,191,535 
163,047.884 


71,683,003 
17,920,751 


723 774 538 


105,462,000 
26,365,500 


Average 


180,943',635 



♦Compiled from Tableau General du Commerce de la France. 
t Of which amount 11,973,427 pounds were from Egypt and Turkey, and ' 
from Brazil. 
X No data. 



3,516 pounds 



V. — Tabular cotn'parative statement showing the quantities of 
cotton imported into Spain, and the countries whence import- 
ed, for a period of five years, from 1851 to 1S55, both in- 
clusive. 
The statistical office has no official Spanish data from which 

to make up the statement required. 



254 COTTON planter's manual. 

The quantities of cotton exported from the United States 
to Spain, according- to United States Treasury reports, the 
years sjDecified, were as follows : 

1851 . . . 34,272,625 lbs. 1854 . . . 35,024,074 lbs. 

1852 . . 29,301,928 " 1855 . . 33,071,795 " 
1853. . . 36,851,042 '' Avrg. (5 yrs.) 33,704,292 " 

From Cuba, the same years, according to " Balanzas Gene- 
rales" of that Island, the quantities exported to Spain were 
as follows : 

1851 .... 13,145 lbs. 1854 . . . 1,489 lbs. 

1852 . . . 300,225 " 1855 .... No data. 

1853 .... 138,625 '' Average (4 yrs.) 113,438 " 

From Porto E/ico, according to official Balanzas of that island, 
as follows : 

1851 .... 315,083 lbs. 1854 . . • No data. 

1852 . . . 141,807 " 1855 . . . No data. 

1853 .... 245,552 " Average (3 yrs.) 234,147 lbs. 

From Brazil, according to the " Proposta e Relatario^^ of 
that empire for the years 1852-'3, and 1853-'4, the quantities 
of cotton exported to Spain were as follows : 

1852-'53, 2,291,578 

1853-'54 2,351,279 

Average, (2 years) ...... 2,321,428 

Spain, according to the '* Cuadro GeneraV* of that kingdom 
for 1849, imported that year, from countries of production, 
26,136,881 lbs. of cotton; of which quantity the United States 



TARIFF DUTIES. 



255 



supplied 21,669,441 lbs., Cuba 3,371,830 lbs., Brazil 832,- 
604 lbs., Porto Eico 370,881 lbs. and Venezuela 21,316 lbs. 



VI. — Statement showing the quantities of cotton exported by Great Britain 
to all countries, respectively, and the countries whence imported, for a 
period of five years, from 1851 to 1855 both inclusive,"^ 



Tears. 


Exported to 
all countries. 


Of which was imported from— 


U. States. 


Brazil. 


Egypt. 


East Indies. Elsewhere. 


1851 

1852 

1853 

1854 

1855 

Annual 
average. 


Pounds. 
111,980,400 
111.875,456 
148,569,680 
125,554,800 
124,345,760 


Potmds. 

66,921,344 

69,217,120 

82,701,472 

55,101,2JO 

56,989,632 


Pounds. 
1,888,880 
3,619,840 
4,786,768 
1,438,192 
759,360 


Pounds. 
211,008 
124,656 
948,416 
369,600 
386,064 


Pounds. 
42,959,168 

88,864,672 
60,082,064 
68,645,808 
66,210,704 


Pou/nds. 

49,i68 
50,960 


124,465,219 


65,186,153 


2,493,608 


407,948 


55,352,483 





* Compiled from the monthly " Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation," presented 
to the British Parliament, the only authority at hand from which the countries whence 
the cotton exported was imported could be ascertained. Eesults gathered from these 
monthly accounts sometimes vary from those given in the " Annual Statement of the 
Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom," from which latter document was made 
up the table that follows. 



Countries to which 
exported. 


Pounds of cotton exported from Great Britain 
in the years — 

■ 


Annual 
average. 


1851. 


1852. 


1853. 


1854. 


Russia 


35,185,472 

2,434,656 

1,576,064 

27,473,040 

22,119,104 

12,856,480 

1,865,504 

2,742,820 

1,866,064 

2,647,120 


45,605,840 

3,591,840 

674,240 

22,472,016 

15,834,224 

12,657,680 

2,225,440 

2,238,208 

1,957,088 

2,824,560 


48,937,392 
4,414,368 
1,143,296 
83,417,440 
28,676,592 
18,466,672 
2,403,968 
3,860,864 
8,830,288 
8,418,800 


208,544 
5,866,560 
23,444,624 
86,055,264 
26,934,544 
14,040,768 
2,759,232 
3,821,328 
4,811,856 
5,383,392 


82,484,812 

4,076,856 

6,709,556 

29,854,440 

23,391,116 

14,505,400 

2,188,536 

3,165,680 

2,991,324 

8,443,468 




Prussia 


Hanse Towns 

Holland 






Sardinia 

Austria 


Other countries 


109,765,824 


109,581,136 


148,569,680 


123,326,112 


122,810,688 


^^ ^ 



Note-— No data for the year 1855. 



256 



COTTOX planter's MANUAL. 



Vn. — Tabular comparative s'aiemeat showing the quantities and declared 
values of cotton manufactures and yarns exported from Great Britain 
and from the United States, respectively, to all countries for a period of 
five years, from 1851 to 1855, both inclusive.'^ 



Tears. 


GEEAT BKITAIN. 


UNITED STATES. 


Manufactures. 


Yarns. 


Manufactures. 


Tarns. 


Quantities. 


Values.! 


Quantities. 


Values, 


Quan's. 


Values. 


Quan's. 


Values. 


1851.. 

1852.. 
1853.. 

1S54. . 
1855.. 

iRg'te 
Aver . 


Yards. 
1,543,161,789 
1,524,256,914 
1,594,592,659 
1,692.977,476 
1,935,846,987 


Dollars. 
110,246,010 
108.242,290 
119,509,700 
116,884,300 
130,623,375 


Pounds. 
143,966,106 
145,478,302 
147,539,302 
147,128,498 
165,499,547 


Dollars. 

33,246,010 

83,273,275 

34,478,265 

88,456,935 

36,152,140 


No Dollars. 
data. 7,203.945 
..do.. 7,637;483 
..do.. 8,746,300 
..do.. 5,486,201 
..do.. 5,857,181 


No 
data. 
..do.. 
..do.. 
..do.. 
..do.. 


DolVs 
37,260 
34,718 
22,594 
49,315 
None. 


8,290,835,775 
1.658.167.1.55 


585,505,675749,611,755 
117.101.115149.922.351 


170,606,625 
84.121,325 


34,931,060 

.... I 6,986,212 




143,887 
28,777 



* Made up from British and United States official documents, respectively; tbe com- 
mercial year of the former ending December 81, and of the latter June 30. 
t The pound sterling is computed at five dollars. 



VIII. — Ge7ieral information respecting the cotton trade of 

the United, States. 



GEEAT BEITAIN. 

The annual average importation of cotton from all countries 
into England, the last five years, has been 838,335,984 lbs. 
of which amounts, according to British authorities, 661,529,- 
220 lbs., or more than three-fourths, were from the United 
States. The annual average exportation to the continent 
and elsewhere, has been 122,810,688 lbs., or about one-sixth 
of the total quantity imported, leaving 715,525,296 lbs. for 
the annual average consumption. About one-sixth of the 
whole amount imported was fiom British possessions. 



THE COTTOX TRADE. 257 

In 1781 Great Britain commenced the reexportation of 
cotton to the continent and elsewhere. In 1815 the quantity 
thus reexported had risen from the annual average of 
1,000,000 lbs. to that of 6,000,000 lbs. In 1853 the aggregate 
amount exported exceeded 148,500,000 lbs., of which nearly 
83,000,000 lbs. were derived from the United States, and 
more than 60,000,000 lbs. from the East Indies. The quan- 
tity of American cotton reexported by Great Britain to the 
different markets of Europe, when compared with the quan- 
tities imported, is much less than of that imported from other 
countries — a fact which suggests the superiority of the Ameri- 
can article, and its better adaptation to purposes of fabrile 
industry. For example, about one-tenth of the cotton im- 
ported from the United States is reexported, against nearly 
one-half of that imported from the East Indies. A comparison 
between American and East Indian cotton shows a difference 
of 100 per cent, in favor of the former; the cotton of the East 
Indies containing 25 per cent, of waste, while that of the 
United States contains only 12|- per cent. The fibre, also, 
of the latter excels that of the former. 

In 1788 the efforts of the East India Company commenced 
for the promotion of the growth of cotton, and for the improve- 
ment of its quality, in British India ; and the first exporta- 
tion of the article to England was made the same year. In 
1814 the exportation amounted to 4,000,000 lbs. ; it now 
averages 165,000,000 lbs. per annum. An area of about 
8,000 square miles is said to be devoted to the culture. 

Liverpool is the great mart of the cotton trade of Great 
Britain, and of Europe generally. Thus, while the total im- 
ports of that article into the United Kingdom, according to 
British authorities, in 1852, amounted to 2,337,338 bales, the 
quantity at this port reached 2,205,738 bales. About six- 
sevenths of the cotton received at Liverpool comes from the 



258 COTTON planter's manual. 

United States ; and of this four-fifths is estimated to be im- 
ported for the factories of Lancashire and Yorkshire. 

Since March, 1845, cotton has been admitted into British 
ports free of duty. Prior to that period the duty was, of and 
from British possessions, 8 cents ; from other places, 70 cents 
per 112 lbs. 

The number of spindles in operation in England is estimated 
at more than twenty millions. 

The value of cotton supplied by the United States to Great 
Britain in 1855 was $57,616,749, being about the average 
each year the last four. 

The quantity of cotton exported from the United States to 
England, in eleven months of the fiscal year 1856, is esti- 
mated at 2,755,000 bales. 

It appears from *' Commerce and Navigation," that the im- 
portation of raw cotton from the British West Indies into the 
United States has increased, for some years past, in a ratio 
quite proportional to the decrease of such importation into 
Great Britain. Thus, the importations of cotton into the United 
States and Great Britain, respectively, from the British West 
Indies, from 1851 to 1855, inclusive, were as follows : 



1851 


Into the U. 


S. 


29,353 lbs. 


Gt. 


Britain. 


446,529 lbs. 


1852 


'< 




6,756 *' 




<( 


703,696 ♦' 


1853 


« 




252,892 " 




<t 


344,060 " 


1854 


<< 




159,381 *' 




'i 


205,072 '' 


1855 


(( 




880,217 " 




(( 


No data. 



The average price per pound of cotton, from 1851 to 1855, 
inclusive, in the United States and Great Britain, respectively, 
is shown as follows : 



THE COTTON TRADE. 



259 



Average Price per Pound. 

1851 In the IJ. S. 12-11 cents. In Gt. Britain.* 12^ cents. 

1852 " 8-05 '* " Hi " 

1853 " 9-85 " « 124- » 

1854 " 9-47 " « 12f '* 

1855 " 8-74 « " 12^ " 

The following statement, showing the quantities of cotton 
imported into G-reat Britain, and the countries whence im- 
ported, from 1840 to 1850, is given to illustrate the statement 
exhibiting the same facts from 1851 to 1855, already pre- 
sented (III) in answer to the resolution. The figures are de- 
rived from a " Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom in 
each year from 1840 to 1853, presented to both Houses of 
Parliament, by command of her Majtesty," by Mr. Albany W. 
Fonblanque, superintendent of the statistical department of 
the Board of Trade : 



Tk. 


Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain from— 


IJ. States. 


Brazil, 


Egypt. 


East Indies. 


W. Indies. 


Elsewhere. 'All countries 


1840. 


487,856,504 


14,779,171 


8,324,937 


77,011,839 


866,157 


3,6^9,402 


592,448,010 


1841. 


358,240,964 


16,671,348 


9,097,180 


97,338,153 


1,533,197 


5,G61,513 


437,992,355 


1842. 


414,030.779 


15,222,828 


4,489,017 


92,972,609 


593,603 


4,441,250 


531,750,086 


1843. 


574,738,520 


18,675,123 


9,674,076 


65,709,729 


1,260.444 


3,135,244 


673,193,116 


1844. 


517,218,622 


21,084,744 


12,406,327 


88,639,776 


1,707,194 


5,054,641 


646,111,304 


1845 


626,650,412 


20,157,633 


14,614,699 


58,437,426 


1,394,447 


725,336 


721,979,953 


1846. 


401,949,393 


14,746,321 


14,278,447 


34,540,143 


1,201,857 


1,140,113 


467,856,274 


1847. 


364,599,291 


19,966,922 


4,814,268 


83,934,614 


793,933 


598,587 


474,7-07,615 


1848. 


600,247,488 


19,971,378 


7,231,861 


84,101,961 


640,437 


827,036 


713,020,161 


1849. 


6:H,504,050 


30,738,133 


17,369,843 


70,838,515 


944,307 


1,074,164 


755,469,012 


1850. 


493,153,112 


30,299,982 


18,931,414 


113,872,742 


228,913 


2,090,698 


663,576,861 



The following table will show the quantities of cotton im- 
ported into Great Britain in 1850 and 1851, distinguishing 
that from foreign countries, and that from the possessions of 
Great Britain : 



* At Manchester. 



200 



COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL. 



Pounds of cotton imported into Great Britain. 

In 1850. In 1851. 

493,153,112 596,638,962 

30,299,982 19,339,104 

18,909,748 15,766,325 

1,619,051 2,141,617 



From foreign countries : 
United States, 

Brazil, . . . , 

Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, 
Other foreign countries, 



Total from foreign countries, 543,981,893 633,886,008 



British possessions : 






East Indies, .... 


118,872,742 


122,626,976 


British West Indies and British 






Guiana, .... 


228,913 


446,529 


Other British possessions. 


493,313 


420,236 



Total fromBritish possessions, 119,594,968 
Total from foreign countries, 543,981,893 



Total of cotton imported. 



663,576,861 



123,493,741 
633,886,008 

757,3^9,749 



Tabular comparative statement showing the declared value of 
cotton manufacturers of cdl hinds and cotton yarns exported 
from Great Britain from 1840 to 1850, hoth inclusive. 



1840 Manufactures, $87,836,-^50 

1841 " 81,162,550 

1842 " 69,539,420 

1843 " 81,270,000 

1844 " 94,083,820 

1845 *' 95,^80,480 

1846 " 88,588,890 

1847 *' 86,876,225 

1848 " 83,766,845 

1849 " 100,355,230 

1850 " 109,368,485 



Yarns, $35,506,540 
36,334,840 
38,857,320 
35,969,855 
34,942,920 
34,816,175 
39,410,240 
29,789,900 
29,639,155 
33,520,445 
31,918,520 



THE COTTON TRADE. 261 



FRANCE. 



Cotton constitutes, in value, more than two-thirds of the 
domestic exports of the United States to France. By virtue 
of the treaty of 1822, it is imported, like all other "articles of 
the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United States," 
on the same terms, whether in United States or national ves- 
sels ; but the importation must be direct, and the origin of the 
article duly authenticated. A ministerial decree of December 
17, 1851, enlarges the provision of the treaty relative to the 
direct voyage, so far as to extend the equality between the 
vessels of the two nations when importing cotton, even should 
the American vessel touch at a British port ; but, in that case, 
the captain is required to exhibit a certificate from the French 
consul at that port, stating that no commercial transaction 
there took place. 

The French government is directing its efforts to the de- 
velopment and extension of the cotton culture in its colonial 
province of Algeria. To that end, in December, 1853, an 
aggregate value of 20,000 francs, in prizes, was offered by the 
emperor to the most successful cultivator of cotton in that 
province. The result is announced as most favorable. In De- 
cember, 1854, the entire sum was divided between three 
rivals, whose merits were judged equal — two of them being 
French colonists, and one an Arab — a gold medal to each 
being also awarded. To the meritorious of the second rank, 
a silver medal to each was presented. The amount produced 
in 1854 was 180,552 lbs. 

Next to Great Britain, France is the largest importer of 
American cotton; and what Liverpool is to the former, 
Havre is to the latter. At those two points the importations 
are concentrated, and thence distributed to the different mar- 
kets of either empire or reexported to foreign countries. 



262 



COTTON planter's MANUAL. 



The reexportations of France are chiefly to Switzerland by- 
railway ; after which country, in this trade, come Sardinia 
and Holland; smaller quantities being sent, also, to Spain, the 
Zollverein and other countries. 

Next to the United States, France derives her supplies of 
cotton from the Levant ; and the third place is held by South 
America. 

These facts are illustrated by the following statements, made 
up from the " Tableau General du Commerce de la France^ 
for the years designated : [The quantities are given in kilo- 
grammes, each kilogramme being equal to about 2| lbs. Kilo- 
grammes multiplied by 9 and divided by 4 will give pounds.] 



Tabular comparative stateinent showing the quantities of cot- 
ton imported into France, and the countries whence imported, 
for a period of three years, from 1852 to 1855, both in- 
clusive. 

Kilogrammes of cotton imported into France, in the years- 



Countries whence imported. 
United States, . . 
Egypt, .... 
Turkey, . • . . 
England, . . . 
Belgium, .... 
Brazil, .... 
Peru, . . • . . 
Venezuela, . . . 

Hayti, 

East Indies, . . 
Elsewhere, . . . 



1852. 

76,104,454 

4,382,575 

1,027,836 

938,907 

231,074 

413,563 

158,716 

315,953 

75,697 

47,955 

393,091 



1853. 

79'381,735 

4,831,872 

1,371,239 

890,322 

603,449 

280,813 

233,838 

169,686 

104,510 

6,674 

191,029 



1853. 

77,746,470 

3,601,327 

375,834 

1,547,994 

375,350 

127,912 

239,688 

68,064 

77,165 

188,649 

206,569 



Aggregate, 



83,989,822 88,065,167 84,555,022 



THE COTTON TRADE. 



263 



Tahular compai'ative statement, showing the quantities of cot- 
ton exported hy France to all countries^ respectively , for a 
period of three years, from 1852 to 1854, hoth inclusive, 
( The quantities are given in kilo grammes, as in the preced- 
ing table.) 
Kilogrammes of cotton exported from France in the years — 

Countries to which exported. 1852. 1853. 1854. 

Switzerland, 7,029,667 7,929,099 6,657,003 

Netherlands, .... 

Sardinia, 

Zollverein, . . . . . 

Hanse Towns, . . . 

Austria, 

England, 

Belgium, 

Spain, 

Tuscany, 

Elsewhere, .... 



1,709,004 


857,982 


688,308 


1,554,395 


661,924 


492,374 


193,408 


158,637 


388,974 


110,554 


182,581 


19,264 


17,585 


138,636 


103,885 


1,149,966 


319,820 


77,008 


75,711 


123,061 


63,704 


213,863 


51,179 


53,825 


48,915 


18,438 


1,720 


74,018 


30,483 


6,493 


12,177,086 


9,571,840 


8,552,558 



Aggregate, . , . 

Comparative tahular statement showing the quantities of cot- 
ton consumed in France, and the countries whence imported, 
for a period of three years, from 1852 to 1854, hoth in- 
clusive. 



Kilogrammes of cotton consumed 

Countries whence imported., 1852. 

United States, . . . 66,740,104 

Egypt, ^ 2,754,662 

Turkey, 979,313 

England, .... 3,966 

Belgium, . .... 231,074 

Brazil, ..... 432,899 

Peru, 144,134 

Venezuela, . . . 206,538 

Hayti, 47,860 

East Indies, . - . 296,953 

Elsewhere, .... 231,448 



in France in the years — 

1853. 1854. 

70,220,752 67,452,503 

2,401,497 2,318.665 

744,331 571,511 

8,442 170,664 

561,066 395,176 

265,450 105,861 

219,077 251414 

161,502 55,263 

70,530 57,290 

263,374 71,517 

175,237 141,131 



72,068,991 75,091,258 71,593,995 



264 



Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cotton 
which passed in transit through France, with the countries 
whence it came, and whither it went, respectively, distinguish- 
ing the quantities to and from each, for the period of three 
years, from 1852 to 1854, both inclusive. 

Yp i-R Countries Quantities. Countries Quantities. 

^ ■ whence. Kilos. whither. Kilos. 

1852, . United States, 5,060,457 Switzerland, 7,027,627 

" . England, . . 1,255,630 Sardinia, . . 364,315 

. Egypt, . . . 1,025,128 Zollverein, . 196,979 

" . Elsewhere, . 266,319 Elsewhere, . 18,613 



Aggregate, . 7,607,534 Aggregate, . 7,607,534 

1853, . United States, 4,800,328 Switzerland, 7,006,914 

" . England, . . 761,193 Sardinia, . . 197,115 

. Egypt, . . . 1,822,372 Zollverein, . 192,779 

*' . Elsewhere, . 92,178 Belgium, . . 79,263 



Aggregate, . 7,476,071 Aggregate, . 7,476,071 

1854, . United States, 4,623,826 Switzerland, 6,601,925 

" . England, . . 1,402,372 Sardinia, . . 265,387 

. Egypt, , . . 884,750 Zollverein, . 373,550 

" . Elsewhere, . 386,693 Elsewhere, . 56,779 



Aggregate, . 7,297,641 Aggregate, . 7,297,641 



SPAIN. 



This kingdom takes from the United States about four-fifths 
of all her cotton ; the quantity, during the last five years, 



THE COTTON TRADE. 265 

recaching an average of thirty-four million pounds per annum, 
and showing an increase on the five years immediately pre- 
ceding. Xext to the United States, Spain imports cotton from 
Brazil, while her West India possessions hold a third rank in 
the trade. 

HAKSE TOWNS. 

The states of Germany are supplied with the cotton con- 
sumed in their factories, chiefly through the Hanseatic cities, 
Hamburg, and Bremen. Bremen sent to the Zollverein, in 1853, 
cotton, imported direct from the United States, to the value 
of $984,772 14 ; and to Austria to the value of $156,153 21. 
The factories of Prussia and Saxony are numerous, and import 
not only the raw material from these cities, but also large 
quantities of yarns. The number of spindles in operation in 
the states composing the Zollverein, is estimated at upwards 
of 1,000,000. This is, doubtless, an under estimate, as the 
industrial enterprise of the Zollverein has made rapid progress 
since the date of the official document from which these figures 
are derived. The export of cotton tissues from the Zollve- 
rein, in 1853, amounted in value to $2,394,497 34, of which 
amount $2,075,299 68 in value, came from the factories of 
Saxony. 

The Hanse Towns, from geographical position, are, and 
must always continue to be, the great marts from which raw 
material of all descriptions will be supplied to the states of the 
Germanic commercial union. Hence, exports of American 
cotton and tobacco to these points are heavy, and constantly 
increasing. These coTQimercial cities receive their supplies of 
raw cotton not only from the United States, in direct trade, 
as well as from Brazil and other countries of South America, 
but also in the indirect trade from English ports and other 
12 



266 COTTON planter's manual. 

entrepots of Europe. Id 1855, the Zollverein sent througli the 
Hanse ports to the United States, cotton fabrics to the value 
of more than a million and a half of dollars, in return for the 
raw material. 

BELGIUM. 

Most of the cotton imported into Belgium, is from the United 
States, and is consumed by her own factories at G-hent, Liege, 
Antwerp, Malines, (Mechlin,) &c., &c., which are said to em- 
ploy a capital of twelve millions dollars, and more than 122,000 
operatives, and to turn out an annual value of seventeen mil- 
lions dollars in fabrics, which are in high repute. 

The " Tableau General'' of Belgium, for 1854, gives the im- 
portation of cotton into that kingdom, as follows : 

Statement exhibiting the quantities of cotton imported into 
Belgium, in 1854, in pounds : 

From United States, ... 15,329,266 

From England, .... 14,208,765 

From Holland, .... 2,733,259 

From France, . ' . . . 368,516 

From Hanse Towns, . ... 79,668 

From Hayti, .... 73,055 

From Brazil, 19,991 

From other countries, . . 30,594 



Total, .... 32,833,114 

Of the above total, 25,783,292 lbs. was consumed, and 
7,049,823 lbs. exported. 

The quantity imported by land and rivers, was 3,104,851 
lbs.; by sea, 29,729,263 lbs. 

Of the quantity exported, 6,959,965 lbs. was by land and 
rivers, and 89,858 lbs, by sea — 



THE COTTON TRADE.' 267 

Prussia receiving (by land and rivers) . 5,628,186 

France " " " . 842,881 

Holland " " " . . 488,898 

And all other countries receiving (by sea) 134,118 



Total by land and rivers and by sea, . 7,094,083* 

The cotton thus exported, was imported as follows : 

Poujids. 
From United States, . . . 5,529,537 

From England, . . . . 1,488,582 

From Holland, .... 70,965 

From France, .... 4,999 



Total, .... 7,094,083 

The average annual amount of duties derived by Belgium 
from cotton, for the five years ending with 1854, was upwards 
of $40,000 ; and, in the latter year, it ranked the thirteenth 
among articles imported, in this regard. The duty, under the 
la^v of January 31, 1852, was 1 franc 70 centimes per 220 lbs. 
By the law of April 12, 1854, cotton became free. 

In 1854, Belgium exported cotton fabrics in value as fol- 
lows : 

Value of total exports of cotton fabrics, . $4,701,572 

Value of total exports of Belgian manufacture? 2,632,586 



Value of total foreign manufactures reexported, $2,068,986 

SAEDINIA. 

Sardinia imports, on an average, some four or five millions 
pounds of cotton each year from England and France, and 

* This is an excess of 44,260 lbs. over the amount given above as ex- 
ported, that quantity ha,ving been entered for consumption but subsequently 
withdrawn. 



268 COTTON planter's manual. 

about the same cjuantity from the United States ; although, in 
1855, the importation from the latter country suddenly rose 
from 1,645,372 lbs. the preceding year, to 14,777,765 lbs. ! 
There seems no sufficient reason why American vessels should 
not convey the whole quantity required by Sardinia, directly 
to Genoa, as well as for English or French vessels to . carry 
thither a portion of American cargoes landed at Liverpool or 
Havre. A similar remark is applicable to the other ports of 
Italy, and to those of Austria on the Adriatic ; and the enter- 
prise of establishing lines of ocean steamers between ports of 
the United States and those of the Mediterranean, will, if suc- 
cessful, tend greatly to encourage, if not to secure, such direct 
importation, 

SWITZERLAND. 

Four-fifths of all the cotton consumed by the factories of 
Switzerland, is estimated to be imported at Havre, whence it 
passes through France by railway, being burdened with heavy 
charges in the transit. In 1833, the quantity thus received 
amounted to nearly 6,000,000 lbs. In 1843, it had reached 
nearly 17,000,000 lbs. The entire receipt of cotton in 1843, 
was 22,000,000 lbs. In 1851, it amounted to 27,035,725 lbs., 
of which 13,729,320 lbs. were from the United States. In 
1852, Switzerland received through France, 15,816,775 lbs.; 
in 1853, 15,815,473 lbs. ; and in 1854, 14,978,257 lbs., accord- 
ing to the " Tableau General''' of France, for those years. 

Imports from the United States into Switzerland, are made, 
for the most part, through the customs frontiers of Berne, 
Basle, Soleure, and Argovie, bordering on France and the 
southern part of Germany. 

A severe restriction on the importation of cotton, and also 
of tobacco, to Switzerland, as well as on the reception by the 
United States of Swiss wares and manufactures in return, is 



THE COTTON TRADE. 269 

the vexatious and expensive transitage, especially through 
France. The oppression of this system may be inferred from 
the fact that the annual average aggregate value of merchan- 
dize on which transit tolls are paid, proceeding from Switzer- 
land, is (1853) nearly thirty millions dollars ; and the value of 
that proceeding to that republic, more than half as much. 

Switzerland sent, iri transitu to France, cotton tissues to the 
value of nearly three millions dollars in 1852 ; and to the value 
of nearly four millions, in 1853. By the French tariff, such 
fabrics are excluded from France for consumption. Since 1845, 
Switzerland is stated, officially, to have quite superseded in the 
markets of Germany and Austria, the yarns of Great Britain. 
In 183.0, that republic had in operation 400,000 spindles ; in 
1840, 750,000 ; and in 1850, 950,000 ; the number having more 
than doubled in twenty years. 

According to Swiss official custom-house reports, that re- 
public received cotton from the United States as follows, the 

years specified : 

Pounds. 
1850, 15,942,740 



1851, 


. 


. 


13,729,320 


1852, 


. 




. 19,065,200 


1853, 


' 




18,441,830 


In return, cotton stuffs, as 


follows. 


were 


sent 


to the United States : 








1850, 


. 


. 


. 3,226,300 


1851, 




. 


3,509,660 


1852, 


. 


. 


. 4,077,920 


1853, 


. 




5,265,150 



In 1855, Switzerland returned to the United States, in ex- 
change for raw cotton, the same article manufactured, to the 
value of $212,700. 



270 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



RUSSIA. 



Before the breaking out of the late war, the manfacture of 
cotton in the Russian empire was progressing w.ith extraordi- 
nary activity. The number of spindles exceeded 350,000, 
producing, annually, upwards of 10,800,000 lbs. of cotton 
yarns. The barter trade with the Chinese, at Kiachta, stimu- 
lates this branch of manufacture in Russia, as the article of 
cotton velvets constitutes the leading staple of exchange, at 
that point, for the teas and other merchandise of China. In 
former years this article was supplied almost exclusively by 
Great Britain ; but the Chinese prefer the Russian manufac- 
ture, and hence the steady progress of that branch of industry. 
Thus the annually increasing importations of the raw mate- 
rial, and consequent diminution in the quantities of cotton 
yarns imported is accounted for. Were raw cotton admitted, 
as in England, free of duty, the United States would, most 
probably, supply, in the direct trade, the whole quantit}^ con- 
sumed in that empire. As it is, the commercial reforms in 
Russia, already announced officially, and now in progress, 
comprehending, as they do, the establishment of American 
houses at St. Petersburg, must necessarily tend to that result. 

There are, at present, in Russia, or there were, previously 
to the war, 495 cotton factories, employing 112,427 operatives, 
and producing, annually, 40,907,736 lbs. of yarns, and corres- 
ponding amounts of textiles. 

SWEDEN. 

The importation of cotton in 1851, according to Swedish 
official authorities, amounted to 7,989,428 lbs., against 1,832,- 
431 lbs. in 1841, and 794,434 lbs. in 1831. In 1843 these 
authorities show an importation of 2,600,000 lbs., against 
9,888,572 lbs. in 1853 ; which latter amount exceeded that 



THE COTTON TRADE. 2Yl 

of the importation of 1852 by 1,247,041 lbs., and that of 
1850 by more than 5,200,000 lbs. being the largest of any 
preceding year. In 1848 the amount was 8,074>020 lbs. 

The value of cotton manufactures exported from S^^eden in 
1850 was $46,000, against $7,500, only, in 1851. 

PORTUGAL. 

This kingdom imported 1,911,451 lbs. of cotton in 1855, of 
which quantity 144,006 lbs. were exported from the United 
States, and the residue from Brazil. In 1853-54, according 
to Brazilian official reports, Portugal received thence 2,673,766 
lbs. of cotton. Her imports of yarn in 1855 were 1,213,157 
lbs., valued at $171,817 01, and paying an aggregate of 
duties of $61,142 84. 

BRAZIL. 

The exportations of cotton from Brazil in 18 43-' 44 and 
1853-'54 are stated, by Brazilian official authorities, as follows : 

1853-'54, 28,420,320 lbs. 

1843-'44, 26,056,160 " 



Increase in ten years, . . . 2,364,160 

In 1852-'53, the exportation amounted to 31,933,050 lbs., 
of which quantity Great Britain received 26,881,201 lbs., 
Spain 2,291,578 lbs., Portugal 1,896,286 lbs., and France 
889,048 lbs. 

Of the total exportations in 1853-'54, Great Britain received 
22,575,122 lbs., Spain 2,351,279 lbs., Portugal 2,673,766 lbs., 
and France 543,611 lbs. 

Exports from Brazil to England began in 1781. 

There are insuperable drawbacks to the extension of the 
cotton culture in Brazil, among which may be reckoned the 



272 

ravages of insects, the peculiarities of tlie climate, and the 
expense and difficulties attendant upon its transmission from 
the interior to the coast. It has long since been ascertained 
in Brazil that the cotton plant will not flourish near to the 
sea, and the plantations have, in consequence, receded further 
inland, as well to avoid this difficulty as to seek new and fresh 
lands. Pernambuco is the principal cotton-growing province 
of Brazil. The exports from that province Avere, according to 
Brazilian authorities, in — 

BALES, 160 LBS. EA. BALES, 160 LBS. EA. 



1828, . 


. 70,785 


1840, . 


. . 35,849 


1830, . 


. 61,151 


1842, . 


. . 21,357 


1835, . 


. 52,142 


1845, . 


. . 26,562 



EGYPT. 

The cotton culture in Egypt commenced in 1818, and ex- 
portation to England in 1823. 

The comparative tabular statement subjoined, derived from 
Egyptian sources, showing the quantities exported at the port 
of Alexandria, and the countries to which exported, respect- 
ively', for a period of three j^ears, from 1853 to 1855, both 
inclusive, would indicate an increase in the culture by no 
means rapid in successive years : 

Pounds of Cotton exported to — 



YEARS. 


GRKAT BRITAIX. 


FRANCE. 


ArSTRIA. 


ELSEWHERE. 


ALL COUNTRIES. 


1853, 


26,439,900 


10,726,500 


6,321,000 


397,800 


43,885,200 


1854, 


24,938,700 


7,454,100 


10,165,200 


988,500 


43,546,500 


1855, 


33,980,100 


9.451,200 


12,774,900 
29,261,100 


668,100 


56,874,300 


MS'^ 


85,358,700 


27,631,800 


2,054,400 


144,306,000 


Av., 


28,452,900 


9,210,600 


9,753,700 


684,800 


48,102,000 



THE COTTON TEADE. 273 

If to the' aggregate exported be added from five to six mil- 
lion pounds worked up in the country, a liberal estimate of 
the annual amount of the cotton crops of Egypt will have been 
made. The factories established by Mehemet Ali are, it is 
stated, going rapidly to ruin. The cotton goods manufactured 
are coarse " caftas" or soldier's " nizam" uniform. Much cot- 
ton is used also, in making up divans, the usual furniture in 
Egypt, The Egyptian bale is estimated at Alexandria at 
300 lbs. The United States consul-general at that port, in a 
dispatch dated the 1st instant, from which are derived the 
above facts, says : '* The new crop is now coming in, and is 
supposed to be a little above the average." 

CAPACITY OF THE COTTON BALE. 

The commercial standard of quantity in the cotton trade is 
generally the bale. The weight of the bale, however, is by 
no means uniform. Indeed, scarcely any weight, measure, or 
standard of capacity may be considered less so. It varies, from 
different causes, in different countries, and in different sections 
of the same country, at different periods, and according to the 
different kinds or qualities of the article. Improvements in 
pressing and packing, to diminish expense in bagging a"nd 
freight, tend constantly to augment the weight of thebaic. Thus, 
in 1790, the United States bale was computed at only 200 lbs. 
In 1824 the average weight of bales imported into Liverpool 
was 266 lbs. ; but, increasing constantly, twelve years later 
the average was 319 lbs McCulloch, however, in 1832, con- 
sidered 300 to 310 lbs. a fair average ; and Burns 310. At 
the same time, the upland cotton bale was estimate at 320 lbs., 
and the sea island at 280 lbs. According to Pitkins, the 
Egyptian bale weighed at one time but 90 lbs., though it now 
weighs more than three times as many. At the same period 
12^ 



274 COTTON planter's manual. 

the Brazilian bale contained ISO lbs., tliougb it now contains 
but 160 lbs., while the West Indian bale weighed 350 lbs., 
and the Columbian bale 101 lbs., or the Spanish quintal. 
According to Burns, the United States bale at Liverpool aver- 
aged 345 lbs. ; the Brazilian 180 lbs. ; the Egyptian 220 lbs. ; 
the West Indian 300 lbs., and the East Indian 330 lbs. At 
the Lowell factories, in 1831, according to Pitkins, the bale 
averaged 361 lbs. In 1836 the bale of the Atlantic cotton 
States was estimated at 300 and 325 lbs., and that of the Gulf 
States at 400 and 450 lbs. In Liverpool, at the same time, 
the estimate for the bale of upland or short staple cotton was 

321 lbs. ; for Orleans and Alabama 402 lbs.; for sea island 

322 lbs. ; for Brazil 173 lbs. ; for Egyptian 218 lbs. ; for East 
Indian 360 lbs., and for West Indian 230 lbs. ; while, accord- 
ing to Burns, bales imported into France were computed at 
only 200 lbs. each. Waterton's " Manual of Cornmerce,'' a 
reliable British publication, (1855,) gives the Virginia, Caro- 
lina, Georgia, and West Indian bale at 300 to 310 lbs.; that 
of New Orleans and Alabama at 400 to 500 lbs. ; East Indies 
at 320 to 360 lbs. ; Brazil at 160 to 200 lbs. Egyptian at 180 
to 280 lbs. Alexander's " Universal Dictionary of Weights 
and Measures" gives the bale of Alabama, Louisiana and Mis- 
sissippi at 500 lbs. ; that of Georgia at 375 lbs., and that of 
South Carolina at 362 lbs. At Rio de Janeiro the Brazil bale 
is estimated at 160 lbs. 

Prior to 1855, the United States " Commerce and Naviga- 
tion" gave exports of cotton in pounds only. They are now 
given in bales as well as in pounds, the aggregate amount for 
the year ending June 30, 1855, being 2,303,403 bales, or 1,008,- 
424,601 lbs.; the bale, accordingly, averaging about 438 lbs. 
Some bales, however, are evidently much heavier and some 
much lighter than this. For example, the 210,113,809 lbs. 
of cotton exported to France give 446 lbs. to each of the 



THE COTTON TRADE. 275 

470,293 bales; and tlie 955,114 lbs. exported to Austria give 
492 lbs. to each of the 1,939 bales ; while the 7,527,079 lbs. 
exported to Mexico give only 290 lbs. to each of the 25,917 
bales in which thej were contained. 

The relative average weights and cubical contents of bales 
of cotton imported into Liverpool in 1852 are thus given : 



Descrip. of bales. 


in lbs. 


KyVU. in 

cub. ft. 


Descrip. of bales. 


Mobile, . . . 


504 


33 


East Indian, 


New Orleans, . 


455 


32 


Egyptian, . . 


Upland, . . 


390 


27 


West Indian, 


Sea Island, . . 


333 


35 


Brazilian, . 



Lv. wt. 
in lbs. 


Con. in 
cub. ft. 


383^ 


15 


245 


27 


212 


25 


182 


17 



These figures show not only the great variety of bales that 
enter Liverpool, but that the most eligible form of bale is 
that of the East Indies — double the weight being packed 
within tlie same compass as in any other description of bale. 

In the great cotton marts of Liverpool and Havre, as in 
those of New Orleans and Mobile, the article is almost in- 
variably treated of by merchants, brokers, and commercial 
men, by the bale. Thus, a report on the trade of Liverpool 
gives the imports of cotton into Great Britain, in 1852, at 
2,357,338 bales. The aggregate of cotton imported that year 
is given in the ofiScial report by the Board of Trade, at 
929,782,448 lbs. ; the bales averaging, accordingly, 395 lbs. 
each. 

The annual commercial " Revue" of Havre, gives the num- 
ber of bales of cotton imported into France, the same year 
(1852) at 462,300 in round numbers. The " Tableau General 
gives the imports at 188,917,099 lbs. ; the bales averaging, 
accordingly, about 409 lbs. each. 

The following table, compiled from the Havre commercial 
** Revue" (1855,) referred to, shows the quantities of cotton, 



276 COTTON planter's manual. 

in bales, imported into France, and the countries wlience im- 
ported, for a period of five years, from 1851 to 1855, both in- 
clusive ; 

TE-iRS. VXITED STATES. BRAZIL. EGYPX. EiSEWHERE. ALL C0UNTR1B3. 

1851 295,400 7,700 18,500 38,000 359,600 



1852 


392,700 


6,000 


36,700 


26,900 


462,300 


1853 


389,000 


2,800 


33,000 


29,200 


454,000 


1854 


403,300 


2,000 


21,400 


16,300 


470,000 


1855 


418,600 


2,500 


30,700 


11,800 


463,000 



Estimating the bale at 400 lbs., we have the following state- 
ment, some of the figures of which, contrasted with those de- 
rived from official sources in the statement already given, 
(III,) present striking discrepancies. 

Tabular comparative statement showing the quantities of cot- 
ton, in round numbers, imported into France^ and the coun- 
tries whence imported, for a period of five years, from 1851 
to 1855, both inclusive, the bale being estimated at 400 lbs. 

Pounds of cotton imported into France from — 



YEARS. 


UNITED STATES. 


BRAZII.. 


EGYPT. 


ELSEWHERE. 


ALL COUNTRIES. 


1851, . 


. 118,160,000 


3,080,000 


7,400,000 


15,200,000 


143,840,000 


1852, , 


. 157,080,000 


2,400,000 


14,680,000 


10,760,000 


104,920,000 


1853, . 


. 155,600,000 


1,120,000 


13,200,000 


11,680,000 


181,600,000 


1854, 


. 172,120,000 


800,000 


8,560,000 


6,520,000 


188,000,000 


1855, . 


. 167,440,000 


1,000,000 


12,280,000 


4,720,000 


185,440,000 



Aggregate, 770,400,000 8,400,000 56,120,000 48,880,000 803,800,000 
Average, 154,080,000 1,680,000 11,224,000 9,776,000 160,760,000 

Note — Marked discrepancies are perceived iu statements of the same 
statistical facts, for the same periods, derived from official data of different 
countries. Although some such discrepancies may be rather apparent than 
real, and attributable to variations in the terminations of commercial years, 
while for others various causes, more or less satisfactory, may be assigned, 
it still remains a vain task to attempt the entire reconciliation of these sta- 
tistical conflicts. 



CHAPTER YIII. 

HISTORY OF COTTON, AND THE COTTON GIN. 



SECTION I. — BEIEF HISTORY OF COTTON. 

Cotton, which administers so bountifally to the wants of 
civilized as well as to savage man, and to the wealth and 
economy of the countries producing it, stands foremost among 
the crops in the United States, both as regards its superior 
staple and the degree of perfection to which its cultivation has 
been brought. One or more of its species is found growing 
wild throughout the torrid zone, whence it has been dissemi- 
nated and become an important object of culture in several 
countries adjacent, where its consumption has increased just 
in proportion to the progress of the arts and civilization. It 
is mentioned by Herodotus as growing in India, where the 
natives manufactured it into cloth; by Theophrastus, as a 
product of Ethiopia; and by Pliny, as growing in Egypt, 
towards Arabia, and near the borders of the Persian Gulf. 
NienhofF, who visited China in 1655, says that it was then cul- 
tivated in great abundance in that country, where the seed had 
been introduced about j&ve hundred years before. Columbus 
found it in use by the American Indians of Cuba, in 1492 ; 
Cortez, by those of Mexico, in 1519 ; Pizarro and Almagro, 
by the Incas of Peru, in 1532 ; and Cabega de Vaca, by the 
natives of Texas and California, in 1536. 

[277] 



278 COTTON planter's manual. 

Of the precise period of the first introduction of the cotton 
plant into the North American colonies, history is silent. In 
a pamphlet entitled, '* Nova Brittania, offering most excellent 
fruits by planting in Virginia," published in London in 1609, 
it is stated that cotton would grow as well in that province as 
in Italy. It is also stated, on the authority of Beverley, in 
his " History of Virginia," that Sir Edmund Andros, while 
governor of the colony, in 1692, " gave particular marks of his 
favor towards the propagating of cotton ; which, since his time, 
has been much neglected." It further appears that it was 
cultivated for a long time in the eastern parts of Maryland, 
Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia, in the garden, though not at 
all as a planter's crop, for domestic consumption. 

In another pamphlet, entitled *' A state of the province of 
Georgia, attested upon oath in the court of Savannah," in 1740, 
it was averred that " large quantities have been raised, and it 
is much planted ; but the cotton, which in some parts is peren- 
nial, dies here in the winter ; which, nevertheless, the annual 
is not inferior to in goodness, but requires more trouble in 
cleansing from the seed." About the year 1742, M. Dubreuil 
invented a cotton gin, which created an epoch in the cultiva- 
tion of this product in Louisiana. During the Eevolution, the 
inhabitants of St. Mary's and Talbot counties, in Maryland, as 
well as those of Cape May county, New Jersey, raised a suf- 
ficient quantity of cotton to meet their wants for the time. It 
was formerly praduced in small quantities, for family use, in 
the county of Sussex, in Delaware, near the head waters of 
the Choptank. 

The seed of the Sea Island cotton was originally obtained 
from, the Bahama Islands, in about the year 1785 ; being the 
kind then known in the West Indies as the " Anguilla cotton." 
It was first cultivated by J osiah Tatnall and Nicholas Turn- 
bull, on Skidaway Island, near Savannah ; and subsequently 



BRIEF HISTORY OF COTTON. 279 

by James Spaulding and Alexander Bisset, on St, Simon's 
Island, at the mouth of the Altamaha, and on Jekyl Island by 
Hichard Leake. For many years after its introduction, it was 
confined to the more elevated parts of these islands, bathed by 
the saline atmosphere, and surrounded by the sea. Gradually, 
however, the cotton culture was extended to the lower grounds, 
and beyond the limits of the islands to the adjacent shores of 
the continent, into soils containing a mixture of clay ; and, 
lastly, into coarse clays deposited along the great rivers, where 
they meet the ocean tides. 

Previous to 1794 — the year after the invention of Whitney's 
saw-gin — the annual amount of cotton produced in North 
America was comparatively inconsiderable ; but since that 
period, there is probably nothing recorded in the history of 
industry, including its manufactures in this country and Europe, 
that would compare with its subsequent increase. 

The earliest record of sending cotton from this country to 
Europe, is in the table of exports from Charleston in 1747-'48, 
when seven bags were shipped ; another parcel, consisting of 
2,000 lbs., was shipped from the same port in 1770 ; and a 
third shipment of seventy-one bags was made in 1784, which 
was seized in England on the ground that America could not 
produce a quantity so great. In 1792, there were shipped 
304 bales; in the first six months of 1796, 150 bales. From 
an old custom-house book at Wilmington, North Carolina, it 
appears that in July, 1768, the ship "Amelia" cleared from 
that port with an assorted cargo, among which were three bags 
of cotton. In 1796, there were exported from Philadelphia 
911,325 lbs. 

The amount of cotton exported from the United States in 1791, 
was 189,316 lbs.; in 1793, 187,600 lbs,; in 1794, l,601,760lbs.; 
in 1795, 6,276,300 lbs. ; in 1800, 17,789,803 lbs. ; in 1810, 
93,261,462 Ihs.— [Patent Office Report for 1853, Agricultural 
Deft., f. 179.] 



280 COTTON planter's manual. 



From the Southern Acriculturist. 



SECTION II. — ON THE COTTON GIN, AND THE INTRODUCTION 
OF COTTON. 

Answers to queries of Hon. W. B. Seahrook of Edisto, S. C, 
by Thomas Spalding, Esq., of Sapelo, Ga. 

Sapelo Island, January 20th, 1844. 

Dear Sir : — Your letter of the lOtli instant was received 
two days ago, and I was gratified at the communication, as I 
have long wished to he personally acquainted with some of 
the gentlemen of your immediate district ; your pursuits, your 
hahits, and your opinions, appearing to he in accordance with 
my own ; and nothing but the continued pressure of a painful 
disease, of now ten years' standmg, has prevented me carrying 
out my design, by visiting you. 

I will now proceed to answer your queries, in the order in 
which they are placed ; only begging you to remember, if you 
notice any indistinctness in my answers, that I have only a 
few days since recovered from a very severe illness which 
prostrated both body and mind, 

1st. Eve's Gin was invented by Joseph Eve, who lately died 
at Augusta, somewhere about the year 1790, in the Bahama 
Islands, where Mr. Eve then resided. 

Mr. Eve was the son of a Loyalist from Pennsylvania, who 
had been the friend of Franklin ; and Joseph Eve was himself 
qualified to have been the associate and companion of Frank- 
lin, or any other ; the most enlightened man I have ever 
known. His gin consists of two pair of rollers, more than 
three feet long, placed the one set over the other, upon a solid 
frame that stands upon the floor, inclined at an angle of about 



ON THE COTTON GIN. 281 

thirty degrees — so that the feeder may the more easily throw 
the cotton in the seed by the handful upon a wire grating that 
projects two inches in advance of the rollers, just below them ; 
between these projecting wires, the feeding-boards, with 
strong iron, or in preference, brass teeth pass, lifting the cotton 
from the wire grating, and offering it to the revolving rollers. 
The feeders should make one revolution to every four revolu- 
tions of the rollers. The rollers are carried forward by wheels 
supported over the gin, and upon the axle or shaft of these 
rollers ; at the center there is a crank similar to a saw-mill 
crank, the diameter of whose revolvement is as one to four of 
the diameter of the wheels, carrying by bands the rollers. 

It is the crimping produced by the teeth and the wire grat- 
ing, which has served as a cause for carping by the cotton- 
buyers, and which has gradually led to the disuse of these 
gins, the only gin efficient for the cleaning of long cotton, 
which has ever been used in this or any other country. With 
Mr. Eve's gin, as originally sent to this country from the 
Bahamas, the rollers were five-eighths of an inch in diameter, 
made of stopper wood, a very hard and tough wood, and they 
were graduated to make four hundred and eighty to five hun- 
dred revolutions per minute, depending of course upon the gait 
of the horses or mules, within these limits. Soon after Mr. 
Eve first sent his gins to Georgia, some of his own workmen 
followed them, and began to make them on their own account. 
To show as much change as possible in the gins, beside the 
other alterations, they increased the size of the rollers, they 
increased the size of the rollers to three-fourths of an inch, 
and increased its velocity to six hundred times in the minute. 
These two changes, while they greatly increased the quantity 
ginned, very much injured the appearance of the ginned cot- 
ton. Mr. Eve had expected and guaranteed to the purchasers 
of his gins when well attended, in fine weather, from two 



282 COTTON planter's manual. 

liuudred and fifty to three hundred pounds of cotton in the 
day. I have known these altered gins do sometimes six hun- 
dred, but the injury was greater than the increased quantity 
warranted, add to which the quicker movement of the feeder 
made the more impression upon the cotton passing fi'om the 
feeder to the roller. 

2d. The first bale of Sea Island cotton that was ever pro- 
duced in Georgia, was grown by Alexander Bisset, Esq., of 
St, Simon's Island, and I think in the year 1778. In the 
vvinter of 1785 and '86, I know of three parcels of cotton 
seed being sent from the Bahamas, by gentlemen of rank 
there, to their friends in Georgia ; Col. Kelsall sent to my 
father a small box of cotton seed ; the surveyor-general of the 
Bahamas, Ool. Tatnall, sent to his son, afterwards Governor 
Tatnall of Georgia, a parcel of cotton seed ; Alexander Bis- 
sett's father, who was commissary-general to the Southern 
British. Army, sent a box of cotton seed to his son, in the year 
1786 ; this Cotton gave no fruit, but the winter being moderate 
and the land new and warm, both my father and Mr. Bissett 
had seed from the ratoon, and the plant became acclimatized. 
In 1788, Mr. Bissett and my father extended the growth, but 
upon my memory it rests, that Mr. Bissett was the first that 
found the means of separating the seed from the cotton, by 
the simple process of a bench upon which rose a frame sup- 
porting two short rollers, revolving in opposite directions, and 
each turned by a black boy or girl, and giving as the result 
of the day's work five lbs. of clean cotton. What dispo- 
sition Mr. Bissett made of his cotton I know not, but as he 
was a sensible man, and his father had returned to England, I 
think it more than probable that he shipped it there. 

3d. When cotton was first grown, it w^as planted on the flat 
land at five — ^ — apart ; it was quite too thin, and although the 
plant grew generally Y»'ell, the product rarely reached one 



ox THE COTTON GIN. 283 

hundred pounds per acre, and at four acres to the hand, gave 
about four hundred to the labor. 

My father died in the year 1794, leaving me some property 
at St. Simon's Island. A gentleman, who had been his friend, 
came, for his health, to spend the winter of that year in Georgia ; 
he gave his advice freely to all he saw that were growing cot- 
ton. I was young, he had been the friend of my father, I 
listened to his advice, left eight or ten plants where one had 
grown, and made oil a small field of sixty acres, 350 lbs. to the 
acre. The revolution was accomplished, and the crop greatly 
increased. 

4th. No manure was used for many years in the culture of 
cotton, persons depending upon the in-field and the out, or the 
alternate cultivation of the field, which was soon found neces- 
sary. The first suggestion of manure upon a large scale to 
cotton, came from Col. Shubrick, of South Carolina, who re- 
commended, in some essays in the papers, the application of 
the drifted reck that is thrown up by the tides. After the 
hurricane of 1804, 1 bestowed a great deal of labor in spreading 
this reck between my cotton rows, over several hundred acres. 
Whether the sea had left too much salt, or whether there was 
too much in the material itself, I know not, but I neither then, 
nor afterwards, experienced much benefit from the applica- 
tion. 

5th. The plough was but little used for any purpose at St. 
Simon's. It takes many years before the palmetto, and the 
collateral roots of the live oak, make hammock land free to the 
plough. Major Butler did use the plough, w^ith mules, for both 
purposes. 

6th. The cotton was generally worked four times. We 
soon found that our working should cease as soon as the rains 
became heavy, say at the middle or end of July. 

7th. The ridges were renewed every year, or every other 



284 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

year, whenever the field was planted in cotton. They were 
originally low, and rather small they were increased in height 
and breadth, according to the different opinions of men. 

From the year 1798 to 1802, the St. Simon's cultivation had 
assumed a regular form, and was in my opinion good ; twenty- 
one rows to the 105 feet, the ridge occupying the entire space, 
large, but full and flat upon the top. The cotton seed drilled, 
and the plants thinned, from six to ten inches apart, dependant 
upon the expected growth of the plant. Major Butler, and 
Messrs. Couper and Hamilton, who cultivated extensively near 
me, were in the habit of topping the cotton in August, to re- 
tain, as they supposed, its fruit. I was in the habit of taking 
off the top of the plant, when the cotton was from 15 to 18 
inches high, to make it branch and give a better head. 

Twenty years ago, upon purchasing some river land opposite 
to Savannah, I adopted permanent ridges, planting a row of 
corn, and a row of cotton, alternately. These ridges had stood 
nine years when my son sold the plantation, giving, as I think, 
the best cotton and the best corn crops in Chatham county. 
And this course I consider the nearest approach to Flemish 
husbandry I have known in Georgia; because, although the 
corn and the cotton changed alternately from ridge to ridge, 
the entire field was kept in full culture, preventing the growth 
of grass and noxious weeds. 

8th. Accounts were kept in pounds, shillings, and pence, in 
those times. Cotton brought at first lid. sterling, but rose 
gradually, in about four or five 3^ears, to two shillings ; at which 
it stood until the unfortunate dabbling with commerce com- 
menced in the year 1806. The first non-importation act passed 
in that year, and none more active in its adoption than our 
southern men. There were but five men, south of the Poto- 
mac, who voted against it : Randolph, J. M. G-arnett, Thomson 
of Virginia, Standard of North Carolina, and myself from 



ON THE COTTON GIN. 285 

G-eorgia. From that day to this, the agriculture and commerce 
of the country has been at the mercy of speculators. 

9th. Care was taken, for many years, as much as possible to 
separate the seed carrying any fur, from the black seed in- 
tended for planting. 

10th. The St. Simon's cotton stood first, and Major Butler's 
and my own first among them. From the character of the 
tradesmen attending his gins, or the greater strictness of his 
manager, his cotton soon took a preference which it preserved 
for some years. The staple of the St. Simon's cotton was 
thought better than any other ; the putting up of Maj. Butler's 
cotton placed it at the hands of others. 

11th. The bags were packed as now, with the pestle. I 
never knew the screw used for long staple cotton but at Mr, 
Hamilton's plantation, and it was soon given up. 

12th. The green seed cotton was for some years packed with 
the pestle ; in fact I remember to have heard objections made 
to the screw, and square bales, at their first introduction. 

13th. Negroes were worked in task-work, in Carolina and 
Georgia, upon the sea-coast, from my earliest recollection. 
The task in listing, the fields being previously cleared up and 
the remains of the former year burned off, was half an acre ; 
the laborer was required to ridge afterwards, when carefully 
done, three-eighths of an acre ; and in hoeing, half an acre was 
the task, depending, however, much upon the season and the 
condition of the field. 

14th. The bags generally were expected to weigh 300 lbs. 
Major Butler's were 4J yards, and contained 260 lbs. 

15th. The rust did not appear for some years in our fields, 
and when it did, I attributed it to listing in green vegetable 
matter in the latter summer, for the next year's crop ; or coarse 
vegetable matter in the winter, instead of burning ofi", which 
left a light top-dressing of ashes. The caterpillars made their 



286 

appearance, I think, for the first time, in 1793, and destroyed 
the crop. I remember Major Butler made but eighteen bales 
of cotton from 400 acres. There was also a red bug, a winged 
insect with a long proboscis, with which it pierced the green 
pods, extracting the juices of the seed and leaving the pod 
blighted and hard, and the cotton stained of a deep yellow or 
red color. In new lands this insect was very destructive, as 
it had been in the Bahamas ; and as it found protection against 
the cold in the bark and roots of the trees, it was apt to remain 
for years, injuring the quality and reducing the quantity of 
the cotton. 

16th. The caterpillar was first seen to do injury, as I think, 
in 1793 : the injury was unusual, the destruction complete, so 
as scarcely to leave seed. The destructive caterpillar is not 
the same that feeds upon the indigo ; the green caterpillar I 
have frequently known to riddle the leaves to a great extent, 
without great ultimate injury ; but it is the black and yellow 
striped caterpillar that in a few days, say from four to five, 
will spread over hundreds of acres, not leaving a green leaf, 
and finally nothing but the full grown pods, which they some- 
times break and injure. 

17th. The black seed cotton had been shipped for several 
years, before they began to grow in the interior the green seed 
for sale. • 

I remain, dear sir, respectfully, your ob't, serv't., 

THOMAS SPALDING. 



SECTION III. — NATHAN LYONS. 

Mr. Editor :— Can yoa op any of your correspondents give 
the public any account of Nathan Lj^ons ? His name seems 
to be almost forgotten ; yet, if tradition can be relied on, few 
men have done more for the South — since it is to him, it seems, 



NATHAN LYONS-. 287 

that cotton planters are indebted for that indispensable ma- 
chine, the cotton gin, now in such general use. It is just 
cause of reproach to any people, to forget or to refuse due 
honors to their own benefactors ; and it is for the purpose of 
retrieving, in some sort, this country from such a reproach, 
that I would now solicit for publication in the Soil of the 
South, a brief memoir of Nathan Lyons, a man whose invent- 
ive genius, it is asserted, first contrived the circular saw for 
separating the seed from the cotton wool. 

Eli Whitney, of Connecticut, doubtless developed the first 
idea of a machine for ginning cotton by the use of a single 
revolving cylinder armed with iron points or teeth, acting in 
connection with fixed bars, and a bush to extricate the cotton 
wool from the teeth of the revolving cylinder. For this inven- 
tion he obtained a patent right of exclusive use and sale, and 
erected one or more machines at Augusta about the close of 
the last century, or the first of this. A glimpse of this ma- 
chine, it is said, suggested to the quick mind of Lyons, the 
substitution of a circular saw, for the wire hooks or card-teeth 
contrivance of Whitney. Although the invention of Lyons 
had a practical value incomparably greater than that of Whit- 
ney, it was never patented — the inventor contenting himself 
with such profits as might accrue from the manufacture and 
sale of*saw-gins at his own shop. Though Whitney is admit- 
ted to be fairly entitled to the honor of originality, except a 
grant of money from the government of South Carolina, it is 
not believed that he ever derived any considerable pecuniary 
profits from his patent. He instituted suits against many 
persons in this State who were using Lyons' saw-gin, but it is 
not known that he recovered in a single instance. The ablest 
counsel could not make our juries believe that Whitney's 
model was the same piece of machinery with Lyons' saw-gin. 
Since the days of Lyons, Griswold, Taylor, Reid, Oglesby, 



288 COTTON planter's manual. 

and other machinists of this State, have, by various improve- 
ments, brought the saw-gin to great perfection ; but whilst 
conceding all due praise to them, let us not be guilty of slight- 
ing original inventors, especially those whose mental achieve- 
ments have contributed so much to enrich and aggrandize our 
own Georgia, Respectfully, 

Blakeley, Ga., May, 10, 1852. J. C. 

[We approve the suggestions of our correspondent from 
Blakeley, and hope that they may be the means of eliciting 
the desired information. There are doubtless some persons 
residing in Middle Georgia, perhaps in Putnam or Hancock 
counties, who could furnish us with such a memoir. The im- 
portance of the invention, or the honor due to the name of the 
man who made it, is enhanced as it grows older ; and whilst 
those who were the contemporaries of such a man may not 
properly estimate his claims to distinction, it is due to the 
history of the times, as well as to the fame of the man, that 
we should properly record the facts in the case, and give 
" honor to whom honor is due." Monuments rise, and history 
teems with eulogies upon the valorous chief of the battle field, 
while the name of the humble, unpretending mechanic, who 
may have originated improvements which swelled the wealth 
of the nation, saved labor, and ameliorated the condition of 
the whole human family, may have failed to descend to pos- 
terity, or find a place in the history of the country. It may 
not have been a matter of any great importance when Georgia 
was the little and obscure member of the old family of thir- 
teen, to have known who lived or figured in that day. But 
now, when her cognomen is, " The Empire State of the 
South," we want to go back, (as with our great men,) to her 
school boy days, note the indices of those times, and see what 
and who hath helped to build up this great name.] 



ORIGIN OF THE COTTON GIN. 289 



SECTION IV. — ORIGIN OF THE COTTON GIN. 

Mr. Editor : — In a last year's number of the Soil of the 
South, some one lias written an article respecting the inven- 
tion of the cotton saw-gin, and seems to think that Nathan 
Lyons was the inventor. My father, who settled in this 
place before the Revolution, (and this is the oldest town in 
Georgia,) has often told me that Jesse Bull, the father of 
Col, 0. A. Bull, now of La Grange, and Charles M. Lin, and 
Lyons, were all interested in the making of the first gin. Mr. 
Lin is the only survivor of the trio. He is a poor man ; 
resides in or near Oxford, Georgia. Being on a visit here I 
had a conversation with him a few days since and gathered 
from him the following particulars. The first cotton gin was 
put in operation at the mill on Brier Creek run by water, nine 
miles below this. This gin was said to be invented by Whit- 
ney — it was not made of saws — but with teeth, something 
like the cotton card — it was kept concealed — the man who 
tended it was ordered to let no man in to see it ; women, who 
were many of them very anxious to see it, were admitted — 
at the same time Mr. Bull, being a man of great mechanical 
genius, was closely engaged trying to construct a machine for 
separating the seed from the lint. Lyons — Ned Lyons — was 
at work with him, and proposed to go in disguise and see the 
gin then in operation — and did — dressed himself in women's 
apparel — went in and examined it — this fact is corroborated 
by Mr. Hobson Bacon, Avhose brother was hired to tend the 
gin — and he, the brother, was taken sick, and my uncle Hob- 
son Bacon took his place for a few days — during which time 
many women were in to see the cotton gin. Soon after the 
first saw gin came out from Jesse Bull's shop, was put up in a 
house on Broad street in this place — and was run by this same 
13 



I 



290 COTTON planter's manual. 

man, Chas. M. Lin. These. I believe to be facts — I remember 
the house myself. After this, Miller and Whitney, the pat- 
entees of the Whitney gin, brought an action against the 
inventors of the saw-gin, and after about nine years' litigation, 
got judgment for a few dollars. Mr. Lin thinks he had to 
pay one hundred and fifty dollars for running the gin, but 
there was injustice in the whole proceeding. Miller & Whit- 
ney feed every attorney that could be employed, and the case 
was carried up by Lyons to the Federal court and there he, 
Lin, was lost sight of. Bull turned into South Carolina, and 
after being absent for months, at sundry times, would always 
return with heavy bags of silver. Another circumstance 
connected with this history is, that Dr. De Amford, a Ger- 
man, living in this place, was called to give his testimony in 
the court, and he swore that the gin which Whitney professed 
to be the inventor of, was invented by a surgeon of Germany, 
for the preparing of lint for the army. 

These are all the facts I can gather from these two old 
men. I have hastily thrown them together in bad taste. If 
you think them worth a place in your paper, you can use 
them. Very respectfully, 

Wrightshoro', Ga., Jan., 1853. THOMAS H. WHITE. 



SECTION V. — STATISTICS OF COTTON. 

The following brief items of the history of cotton for about 
a hundred years — 1730 to 1836— will be read and referred to 
with interest : 

1730. Mr. Wyatt spins the first cotton yarn in England by 
machinery. 

1735. The Dutch first export cotton from Surinam. 

1742. First mill for spinning cotton erected at Birming- 



STATISTICS OF COTTON. 291 

ham, moved by mules or horses ; but not successful in opera- 
tions. 

1749. The first shuttle generally used in England. 

1756. Cotton velvets and quiltings in England for the first 
time. 

1761. Arkwright obtained the first patent for the spinning 
frame, which he farther improved. 

1768. The stocking frame applied by Hammond to making 
of lace. 

1773. A bill passed to prevent the export of machinery 
used in cotton factories. 

1779. Mule spinning invented by Hargrave. 

1782. First import of raw cotton from Brazil into England. 

1782, Watt took out his patent for the steam engine. 

1783. A bounty granted in England ou'the export of certain 
cotton goods. 

1785. Power looms invented by Dr. Oartwright. Steam 
engines used in cotton factories. 

1785. Cotton imported into England from the United States. 

1786. Bleaching first performed by agency of the oxy-mu- 
riatic acid. 

1787. First machinery to spin cotton put in operation in 
France. 

1789. Sea island cotton first planted in the United States ; 
aiid upland cotton first cultivated for use and export about 
this time. 

1790. Slater, an Englishman, built the first American cot- 
ton factory at Pawtucket, E. I. 

1192. Eli Whitney, an American, invents the cotton gin, 
which he patents. 

1798. First mill and machinery for cotton erected in Switz- 
erland. 

1799. Spinning by machinery introduced into Saxony this 
year. 



292 COTTON planter's manual. 

1803. First cotton factory built iu New Hampsliire. 

180.5. Power looms successfully and widely introduced into 
England. 

1807. The revolution in Spanish America begins to furnish ; 
new markets for cotton manufactures. 

1810. Digest of cotton manufactures in the United States 
by Mr. Gallatin, and another by Mr. Tenche Cox, of Phila- 
delphia. 

1811. Machinery to make bobbin lace patented by John 
Bern. 

1813. The Indian trade more free, and more British manu- 
factures sent thither. 

1814. The power-loom first introduced into the United 
States ; first at Waltham. 

.1818. Average price of cotton 34 cents — higher than since 
1810. New method of preparing sewing cotton by Mr. Holt. 

1819. Extraordinary price for Alabama cotton lands. 

1820. Steam power first applied, with success, extensively 
to lace manufactures. 

1822. First cotton factory in Lowell erected. 

1823. First export of raw cotton from Egypt into Great 
Britain. 

1825. New Orleans cotton at from 23 to 25 cents per pound. 

1826. Self-acting mule spinner patented in England by 
B/oberts. 

182t. American cotton manufactures first exported to any 
considerable extent. 

1829. Highest duty in the United States on foreign cotton 
manufactures. 

1830. About this time Mr. Dyer introduced a machine from 
the United States into England, for the purpose of making 
cards. 

1832. Duty on cotton goods imported into the United 



COTTON GIX AND PACKINCx SCREW. 293 

States reduced ; and in England it is forbid to employ minors 
in cotton mills to work more than ten hours per day, or nine 
hours on Saturday ; in consequence they work at something 
else. 

1834. Cotton at 17 cents. 

1835. Extensive purchases made of cotton lands by specu- 
lators and others. 

1836. Cotton from 18 to 20 cents. 



SECTION VI. — COTTON GIN AND PACKING SCREW. 

Messrs. Editors : — One of your correspondents has dis- 
covered that cast-iron screws are a desideratum in packing 
cotton, and refers to Mr. Finley, of Macon, for the cost of 
them. This is no new discovery. The first screw employed 
in packing cotton was probably made of iron. About the year 
seventeen hundred and ninety-five, a gentleman from Balti- 
more — the father of Judge Bull, of La Grange — settled in Co- 
lumbia county, in this State, and introduced the cotton gin, 
although Whitney claimed the credit of it and will probably 
always be known as the inventor of a machine which has pro- 
duced such a marvelous revolution in the commerce of the 
world. Bull lived in Columbia county, and Whitney resided 
on the plantation of Gen. Green (of revolutionary memory) in 
Liberty county, two counties at that period considered very 
remote from each other and between them there was but little 
intercourse. Their inventions having the same object in view 
were nevertheless made without a knowledge of any preexist- 
ing machine for ginning cotton. Bull used at first perpendic- 
ular saws, but very soon ascertained that circular saws were 
better adapted to his purposes and substituted them. Whit- 
ney obtained a patent for his invention and commenced suits 



294 COTTON planter's manual. 

against Bull and otliers who were using Lis gins in the United 
States Court, as the records of that Court at Savannah will, I 
presume, show. These suits were never tried, as it was un- 
derstood that Bull was prepared to prove by reliable and 
incontrovertible testimony that his gin was his own invention 
and was no infringement of Whitney's rights under his patent ; 
and I have Judge Bull's authority for saying that Whitney 
ojBfered his father ten thousand dollars to suffer a judgment to 
be rendered against him, which he refused. 

When Bull first put his gin in operation he ginned for the 
fourth, and excluded all male visitors, but females who were 
prompted by motives of curiosity to see it, were admitted. 
Some one who was a mechanic or a machinist introduced him- 
self in the disguise of an old woman and with a walking stick 
on which its measure in inches was obscurely marked, ob- 
tained the dimensions of the machine and with the knowledge 
thus surreptitiously procured, constructed a gin on the same 
model. 

That Whitney was entitled to the credit of the invention 
which he patented is probable, but that Bull was the first to 
introduce the saw gin — the prototype of the gin now in use — 
I have not the least doubt. Whitney's name has ever been 
and will always be connected with this great and important 
invention, and it is to be regretted that Bull's claim to the 
honor of an invention which has excited such a wonderful 
influence in controlling the commerce of the world, and has 
contributed so much to the comforts and the wants of man- 
kind, cannot, owing to the lapse of years, be successfully vin- 
dicated. 

After his extraordinary success in constructing a machine 
for ginning cotton, Bull went to New York and had two iron 
screws cast for pressing cotton. They were employed in the 
city of Augusta in repacking cotton for shipment. These 



COTTON GIN AND PACKING SCREW. 295 

were probably the first screws ever used baling cotton. What- 
ever doubt may exist in relation to Bull's claim to the inven- 
tion of tbe gin, there is but little doubt but that he is entitled 
to the credit of the first packing screw. 

Col. Dawson, of the Sulphur Springs in Meriwether county, 
remembers when Edward Lyon, who had been in Bull's 
service, built the first gin in Wilkes county. He thinks this 
occurred in the year 1806 ; and he remembers that Gilbert 
and Pruden had the first screws for packing cotton in that 
county, which were located in Washington, and made of cast 
iron. There are many Georgia who remember when the 
wooden screw was introduced. Previous to that time, nearly 
all the cotton made was packed in round bales without the 
agency of the screw. Such screws as were in use were made 
of cast iron. 

Your correspondent does not seem to be aware of this fact, 
and I think it probable that the two he found on his planta- 
tion had been long since discarded and their place supplied 
with the safer and niore economical wooden screw. He refers 
to their durability as a recommendation. It is true that no 
limit can be prescribed to the duration of cast iron, but in the 
shape of a screw it is, because of its brittleness, liable to break 
in exerting the immense power which is required of it in 
packing a bale of cotton, and when it does break it gives no 
premonition of the danger which menaces every one within 
reach of it. The age of cast iron screws has passed away, 
and I do not think that your correspondent, even with the 
aid of Mr. Finley, can revive it. 

Pike County, Ga. ; 1856. ANTIQUARY. 



296 COTTON planter's manual. 



SECTION VII. — HISTORY OP THE COTTON GIN. 

An esteemed correspondent, of Pike County, G-a., writes us 
as follows ; and we commend his suggestions to the attention 
of Judge Andrews and others. The true history of this im- 
portant invention, should be preserved : 

Editors Southern Cultivator — Could you not induce 
some one who has a taste for home antiquities, to give you 
the history of the cotton gin ? There are probably some liv- 
ing in Columbia county or in that part of the State whose 
recollection goes as far back as 1795. If so, they could shed 
much light on the subject. I should be pleased to know when 
Whitney's patent bears date, and whether the record of the 
United States Court at Savannah would not afford some infor- 
mation. Much of what is known on the subject is traditionary 
and unless collected will very soon be lost. There is an aged 
and an intelligent citizen of La Grange, by the name of Amos, 
who, Judge Bull informs me, worked in the shop of his father. 
Erom him and from other aged citizens much information 
could be collected. I know of no one who has more taste and 
capability for writing the history of the cotton gin than Judge 
Andrews, and I presume that at your suggestion he would 
favor the readers of the Cultivator with another communica- 
tion on the subject. 

Respectfully yours, . \v. D. A. 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 297 



ELI WHITNEY,* THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON GIN. 

A STRUGGLE always presents a manly and inspiring spec- 
tacle. Man was made for action — and lie cannot but sympa- 
thize with earnest and energetic action on the part of others. 
The struggle of brute force against brute force, is not without 
interest. The strife of mind with mind is nobler ; nobler still 
is the struggle of mind with unwilling nature, when he is 
sternly resolved on wresting from her reluctant grasp the secret 
of her mystery. The interest increases just as the genitJs is 
commanding — as the obstacles are great and manifold — as the 
strife is protracted — and as the triumph is complete and final. 
If the struggle be for a worthy object, and that object be fully 
secured in some permanent benefit to mankind, which remains 
as its lasting memorial, it is nobler still. 

For one or all of these reasons — the lives of " self-made men" 
have usually a peculiar charm. They are always read with 
an eager interest by the young and hopeful. Most of all are 
they favorite books with the young American. The structure 
of our government and society, gives leave to every man to 
make the most of himself. The buoyant and hopeful youth 
of our people, the boundless and undeveloped-.resources holding 
out so wide a field for effort, and the familiar spectacle of men, 
who, from the humblest origin, have risen by native energy to 
the highest stations of wealth and honor, these all combine to 
make the incidents of the life of such men the favorite reading 
of multitudes among us. 

There are few lives of this class that present the elements 

* Memoir of Eli Whitney, Esq. By Denison Olmstead, Professor of 
Natural Philosophy and Astrononay, Yale College. First published in the 
American Journal of Science, for 1832. New-Haven : Durne & Peck. 
1846. pp. 80. 

13* 



298 COTTON PLANTERS MANUAL. 

of higliei', we might almost say, of more romantic interest, than 
the life of Eli Whitney. All the elements we have named 
are here present. There is great genins, adequately trained 
for its conflict. There is an object most noble and inspiring, 
and clearl}'- contemplated by him as worthy his efforts — there 
is success the most complete and triumphant, in a result the 
value of which defies all computation ; and there are obstacles 
enough to invigorate, to test, and develope the sternest heroism. 
.We do not propose to give here an extended view of the cha- 
racter of Whitney, or a history of his life. Both of these have 
been ably done in the work of which we have given the title. 
There are, however, some facts and some personal traits, con- 
nected with the history of his greatest invention, which ought 
to be familiar to all our citizens. 

Whitney was born in Massachusetts, at Westborough, in the 
year 1765. His father was a frugal, hard-working farmer, who 
had some taste for mechanics, as it would seem, having pro- 
vided himself with a work-shop, which was stocked with a 
small supply of tools. This work-shop laid the foundations of 
Whitney's fame, and strengthened the decided genius for 
mechanics which he very early developed. From the earliest 
age at which he could handle tools, he was always in this shop. 
At about the age of twelve, he made a very tolerable violin, 
which was finished in all respects, and furnished very good 
music. This wonderful performance, for a boy of his age, and 
at that period in the history of our country, when the mechanic 
arts were so rude, in an interior country town too, as might 
reasonably be su]Dposed, established his fame as a mechanic. 
From this time he was employed to repair violins, and to exe- 
cute difiicult jobs of various kinds, in all of which he seems to 
have been uniformly successful. At about this period, he took 
the opportunity, during the absence of his father at church, of 
prying into the mystery of his watch, which was to him a 



HISTORY OP THE COTTON GIN. 299 

strange and unknown thing. Before lie was aware of what he 
had done, he had taken it in pieces. But true to his genius, 
he attempted at once to put it together, and succeeded so per- 
fectly, and so soon, that his father never suspected what he 
had done. At thirteen, he made a handsome table-knife, to 
supply the place of one of a well-finished set which had been 
broken, and succeeded so completely, that excepting the stamp 
upon the blade, for which he had not the necessary tools, it 
matched perfectly v/ith the others. At the age of fifteen or 
sixteen, he proposed to his father, with characteristic enter- 
prise, to commence the manufacture of nails, which were then 
made entirely by hand. It was in the midst of the war of the 
Revolution, and nails were scarce and dear. This enterprise 
was profitable, so profitable that after two years he determined 
to enlarge the business, and set off on a secret journey to find 
a suitable fellow-workman. After travelling forty miles he 
found his man, and returned — having called at every shop by 
the wayside, to gather from each all the information which he 
could in respect to the mechanic arts. 

Such was Whitney in his boyhood ; distinguished not onlj?- 
for his mechanical skill, joined with bold and self-relying en- 
terprise, but also for a decided interest in the mathematics. 
His feelings were ardent, yet completely tempered and con- 
trolled by prudence.* 

* When Mr. Whitney was eighteen years of age, he became distinctly 
conscious that he had not the control of his own mind — that his imagination 
was so fruitful and roving-, and his temperament so excitable, that he could 
not command his attention. He at once set himself, by a deliberate effort, 
to gain the mastery of himself, and actually to hold his mind to a given point. 
The effort was trying — it cost him a whole night of struggle ; but the victory 
was complete, and he felt ever after that his self-command was sufficient. 
He showed to his friends, all his life after, the results of this effort in the 
control of his attention, by which he could pass from one subject to another, 
be, as it were, entirely absorbed in it, and then take up the one which he 
had left, and find it just as he had left it. 



300 COTTON planter's manual. 

From the age of nineteen, lie formed the project of receivmg 
a collegiate education, and though thwarted and delayed by 
influences at home, he adhered to this determination till four 
years after, at the age of twenty-three, when he was admitted 
to the Freshman class at Yale College. The expenses of his 
collegiate career were defrayed from his own industry, with 
temporary loans from his father. We regard this purpose, 
formed by such a young man, at so late a period of life, and 
carried through after so long a delay, as a decisive and striking- 
indication of strong good sense, and a very elevated and com- 
prehensive intellect. The quick and able mechanic is, of all 
men, the most likely to cherish an overweening sense of his 
own gifts, and to think that the peculiar skill in Avhich he 
towers above the whole circle of his acquaintance, is the only 
knowledge worth possessing. The rewards and promises which 
hold out to such a man the allurement of speedy and brilliant 
success, are usually too exciting to be thrust forward into the 
dim future, for the sake of the unattractive studies of abstract 
science. What views Whitney entertained on this subject, or 
what particular consideration decided him upon a course so 
unusual, we are not informed. We record the fact as a de- 
cisive proof that his genius, though, from the first, daring and 
self-confident, was freighted with a large measure of foresight, 
comprehensiveness, and good sense. At college he was much 
interested in mathematical and philosophical studies, and con- 
stantly gave proof that his genius in invention and in practical 
mechanics was not in the least exhausted. 

Thus ended the period of his preparation for the great work 
to which he was destined to apply his powers. This prepara- 
tion was singularly complete. There was the. earliest and 
brightest promise, answering completely to the -word genius, 
as understood in its most peculiar and highest import — which 
genius had been rarely disciplined in those two opposite yet 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 301 

equally essential courses of training — the training of practical 
life and that of scientific studies. The descent of such a man 
upon the arena of great achievement, is as the appearance of 
a giant wearing a giant's panoply, either of which it is pleas- 
ant to look upon, but both of which united are splendid and 
imposing. 

After leaving college, Mr. Whitney almost immediately 
went to the State of G-eorgia, for the purpose of fulfilling an 
engagement with a gentleman to .reside in his family as a 
private teacher. On his way to Savannah, by ship, he had 
as a companion of his voyage, the widow of the then late Gen. 
Greene, so distinguished in the annals of our revolutionary 
history. On his arrival at Savannah, being but partially re- 
covered from the small-pox, which he had by inoculation, he 
was invited b}' Mrs. Greene to spend a little time at her resid- 
dence at Mulberry Grove, near that city. He soon learned 
that another teacher had been employed in the place which 
he had expected. Mrs. Greene at once kindly and generously 
proposed to him to commence the study of the law under her 
hospitable roof, and to remain in her family as long as he 
should choose. He had not been long with her before he gave 
striking proofs of his mechanical ingenuity, which attracted 
the attention of Mrs. G., and led her to feel that Whitney 
could meet any exigency in which invention and skill of this 
kind were required. Not long after, Mrs. Green was visited 
by several gentlemen from Upper Georgia, principally officers 
who had served with her husband in the war. Of these were 
Majors Brewer, Forsythe, and Pendleton. They conversed 
largely upon the situation and prospects of agriculture in the 
opening upper country of the South, and expressed regret that 
no means had been devised to clear the upland cotton from 
the seed, saying that unless such a point could be attained, it 
was vain to raise cotton for the market. Mrs. Greene inter- 



302 COTTON PLANTER S MANUAL. 

rupted their conversation, by saying, " Grentlemen, apply to 
my young friend, Mr. Whitney, he can make anything." 
After showing them, as the results of his ingenuity, the vari- 
ous mechanical contrivances which he had devised and ex- 
ecuted, she introduced him to the circle, who at once made 
known the object to be accomplished, and the difficulties 
w^hich were in the way. Whitney, in reply, disclaimed any 
superiority of mechanical genius, and added, that he had never 
in his life seen either cotton or cotton seed. Mrs. Greene 
then said, " I have accomplished my aim. Mr. Whitney is a 
very deserving young man, and to bring him into notice was 
my object. The interest which our friends now feel for him, 
will, I hope, lead to his getting some employment to enable 
him to prosecute the study of the law." The interest of Mrs. 
Greene in this young and ingenious stranger, who had been 
fortuitously thrown in her way, deserves to be recorded in her 
honor. Such interest is not, we believe, uncommon, particu- 
larly at the hospitable home of the generous Southerner. It 
is rare that it meets with a reward so befitting, yet so splendid, 
as awaited Mrs. Greene, of having her name associated with 
the man and the invention which was destined to produce so 
striking a change on the interests and importance of the entire 
southern country. 

Some of our northern readers may here, perhaps, need to 
be informed, that there are two kinds of cotton raised at the 
south — the one, the Sea Island, the black seed or long staple 
cotton ; the other the ujpland, green seed or short staple. One 
of these species can be grown only upon the lowlands near 
the sea. Its fibre is long and fine ; it can be separated from 
the seed with comparative ease, and it is used in the finer 
fabrics, as cambrics and muslins. This cotton was the only 
species that was extensively cultivated previous to Whitney's 
invention, and its growth was confined, as it is now, to rare 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 303 

and peculiar situations. Its price, per lb., is many times that 
of tlie other ; and at this day, though a plantation fit for its 
culture is of rare value, yet the value of the entire production 
of this species is quite insignificant compared with that of the 
whole cotton crop of the Union. 

The upland cotton can he raised on a large portion of the 
interior lands of the Southern States. Its fibre is short, and 
adheres tenaciously to the seed, and presented such difficulties 
in being cleaned, that the separation of a pound of cotton was 
esteemed the work of a day for a single hand ; this circum- 
stance alone interposing an insurmountable obstacle to its 
general or profitable culture. It may easily be understood, 
why the subject of a mechanical invention of this sort was es- 
teemed so desirable by these gentlemen, residing, as they did, 
on the borders of this upper country — and being able to foresee 
truly, yet dimly, what immense results were hangmg upon 
the possibility of such an invention. 

The hint given to Whitney by these gentlemen was not 
lost upon him. The season for cotton in the seed was passed, 
but Whitney went to Savannah at once, and after a long 
search, at last lighted upon a small q^uantity ; with this he 
returned to his temporary home, and communicated his inten- 
tions to Mr. Miller, who was then a teacher in. the family, and 
afterwards married Mrs. Greene. A room was assigned to 
him, to which Mr. Miller and Mrs. Greene we^e the only 
persons who were admitted, or who knew anything of his 
project. His materials and tools were both limited ; even 
the wire which he required could not be found at Savannah, 
and he was forced to draw it for himself. " Near the close of 
the winter, the machine was so nearly completed as to leave 
no doubt of its success." Mrs. Greene was naturally eager to 
communicate to her friends the fact of an invention which 
promised at once a crop suitable to the soil, occupation for 



304 coTTOx planter's manual. 

their Lands, and immense wealth, as the result of the~ extend- 
ed culture of an article Avhich had been thought of little worth. 
She invited to her house gentlemen of distinction from different 
parts of the State, and conducted her assembled guests to the 
room in which they saw with astonishment a machine which 
promised such splendid results for all their interests. 

Mr. Whitney was at once urged to receive a patent. His 
reply was prophetic of what actually occurred, and was in 
substance, that the introduction of a new invention, the pro- 
lection of it against encroachments of interested and unprin- 
cipled men, was an enterprise of doubtful success ; and that 
rather than incur the hazards incident to it, he preferred to 
strive for the surer rewards attendant upon his contemplated 
profession. This remark was sagacious and prophetic, for 
after being overruled in his decision, and persuaded to embark 
his time and his energies to the introduction of his machine, 
under the protection of a patent, and after spending years of 
vexation and toil of body and spirit, in the effort to secure to 
himself some profitable return for his service to his country, 
he was forced to retire from the contest, with the persuasion 
that the effort had been a fruitless one ; that Avhat he gained 
by strife and determined perseverance, was no more than 
an equivalent for what he actually expended in the efforts to 
secure to hiuself his rights ; the actual loss of time in energy, 
which, if rmdistracted, might have been profitably directed to 
other pursuits — of health, and even of life, being reckoned only 
as a small item in the calculation. 

His determination on this subject was changed principally, 
it is believed, by the agency of Mr. Miller, who entered into 
copartnership with him for the construction and vending of 
these machines, of which the profits were to be equally di- 
vided. The machine were to be patented. The necessary 
funds for the business was to be furnished by Miller. The 



HISTORY OP THE COTTON GIN. 305 

instrument of tMs copartnersliip is dated May 27, 1793. But 
the invention could not be kept a secret till it should be pro- 
tected by a patent. Great numbers of persons flocked from 
all parts of the State to see the new invention ; and when it 
was not deemed prudent to allow access to the machine, the 
building was broken open by night and the new cotton-gin 
was carried off, so that before the model could be finished, 
and the letters patent could be secured, the invention was 
put in operation and several machines were constructed. 

The petition for a patent was presented to Mr. JefPerson, 
the Secretary of State, June 20, 1193. Mr. Jefferson at once 
took a strong interest in the invention and its originator, and 
assured Mr. Whitney, that his request should be granted as 
soon as the model should be lodged at the patent office. In 
consequence of unavoidable delays, however, the patent was 
not secured in form till several months afterwards. 

It would seem, that with the protection and power of a pat- 
ent, for a machine so certain to be used and to increase the 
demand for itself by creating a new staple of the country, the 
road to affluence would be short and easy. But events issued 
far otherwise. Obstacles the mo^t trying and depressing at 
once arose, and with them the persevering spirit of Whitney 
was summoned to contend during the entire period of fourteen 
years allowed him, by the patent law. The history of this 
period is a history of vexation, disappointment, and of 
wrong — not indeed of wrong on the part of those who occa- 
sioned it ; that was in all or in most cases, deliberate and 
known, but which to him who suffered it, brought all the pain- 
ful consequences of such wrong. 

We cannot go into a detailed history of the obstacles against 
which he was called to struggle. A few of the facts only can 
be given, and these only in a summary way. A prominent 
cause of these may be found in the plan adopted by the part- 



306 COTTON PLAXTEIl'S MANUAL. 

ners, to control and manage the business themselves, by erect- 
ing machines in all parts of the country, and to gin the cotton 
at a certain rate per pound, or to buy the cotton before it was 
separated, and then to control, to a certain extent, the whole 
crop in the market. It is easy to see how tempting this plan 
must have seemed to the eyes of Whitney's sanguine partner ; 
how certahi to realize immense and sudden wealth ; and how 
likely, on the other hand, to arouse the jealous antagonism 
of the planters on whose eyes were also beginning to dawn 
bright visions of the wealth, which they too might realize 
through this new channel. A proposition which might seem 
to appropriate too large a portion of the profits would be 
likely to sharpen their doubts of the originality of the inven- 
tion, and to blunt their sense of justice in using the cotton gin 
wherever it could be found, or whoever might be in law its 
proprietor. The recent enactments of the patent law, for it 
was passed in the early part of 1793, the year in which 
Whitney's application was made, might also have contributed 
to the difficuties with which Whitney was called to contend. 
The law which secures to an inventor his rights is less readily 
appreciated and respected, than one which guards national 
property, or bodily life. Besides, under a government so re- 
cent as that of the Union, the impost of such a law was yet to 
be settled by actual decisions, and its applications to be 
tested by verdicts of juries. At this time also money was 
scarce, and rates of interest were high, so that at the time 
when a loud call was beginning to be made for the machines, 
which were to be manufactured by Miller and Whitney, the 
partners were themselves embarrassed for the want of capital 
with which to make them. Then again, at one time, Whitney 
was prostrated by disease also; and at a second, both being im- 
portant crises in the fortunes of the infant enterprise, his Avork- 
men also were disabled by a fatal epidemic, in July 1794, just 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 307 

at the time when the first cotton crop was maturing for the new 
machine, and when Miller was writing to Whitney that within 
a year from that time from fifty to a hundred gins must 
be completed and transported to the south. He adds, " The 
people of the country are runniug mad for them, and much 
can be said to justify their importunity. When the present 
crop is harvested, there will be a real property of at least fifty 
thousand dollars lying useless, unless we can enable the hold- 
ers to bring it to market." 

Early in the year following, on arriving at New Haven, 
from New York, where he had been detained by a lingering 
illness, he was informed that on the day before, his shop, with 
all his machinery and papers, had been consumed by fire. At 
this time, under the pressure of necessity, (which is the 
mother of all sorts of inventions, some of which are not the 
most honest) the necessity arising from the increased culture 
of cotton, which had been immensely stimulated by the pros- 
pect from the invention, two rival machines appeared in the 
field to dispute the claims of Whitney's. The one of these 
was the roller-gin, which, though it executed the work of 
cleansing the cotton very imperfectly, yet, in the exigency, 
found many advocates. At all events, it diverted the atten- 
tion of the public from Whitney's patented machine, and 
weakened their moral sense in respect to any peculiar claims 
on his part. The other was the saw-gin, which applied one 
of the principles peculiar to Whitney's, with this difference, 
that the teeth were cut from a continuous plate of metal, in- 
stead of being inserted as wires. This idea, by the way, had 
occurred early to Whitney, as was established afterwards by 
legal proof. Here, then, was a machine which was really his, 
and against which he brought his suits, and at last enforced 
the rights of his patent. But as yet, and for years, while the 
question ^^as undecided, this was as good as the patent one, 



308 coTTOx plantee's manual. 

and many an honest man miglit think himself justified in 
using it. This machine made its appearance in 1795. The 
year after — for each year brought to Whitney its new calam- 
ity — the fatal intelligence was brought from England that the 
manufacturers rejected the cotton cleaned by the gin, because 
the staple was supposed to be injured. This at once lowered 
the price of his cotton in the market, and gave boldness to the 
trespassers upon his rights. At this moment the company 
had thirty gins stationed at eight different places in the State 
of Greorgia, and ^10,000 invested in real estate, for the pur- 
poses of their enlerprise. Near the close of the following 
year the stout heart of Whitney begins to yield, and he writes 
as follows : '* I have labored hard against the strong current 
of disappointment, which has been threatening to carry us 
down the cataract ; but I have labored with a shattered oar, 
and struggled in vain, unless some speedy relief is obtained." 
And in the same letter — " I have sacrificed to it [our business] 
other objects, from which, before this time, I might certainly 
have gained twenty or thirty thousand dollars." During this 
year, however, the reports from England, in respect to the 
quality of the cotton from the new machines were entirely 
reversed, and a preference began to be given to it over every 
other in the market. 

But the peculiar calamity of this year (1797) was, that the 
first trial of their patent at law which could be obtained, issued 
against them. Notwithstanding the charge of the judge was 
pointedly in their favor, and the defendants expected a verdict 
of heavy damages, the plaintiffs lost their case, and an appli- 
cation for a new trial was denied. Thus, after four years had 
been consumed in a protracted effort to test the validity of the 
patent, at the first issue that was joined there was an entire 
failure. Vigorous efforts were made to bring another suit to 
trial at Savannah, in the year following, 1798. Witnesses 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 309 

were assembled from various and distant parts of the State, 
and at great expense ; but the judge did not appear, and tbe 
trial was deferred. About a year after, Mr. Miller seems to 
bave given up all hopes of defending the patent in the State 
of Georgia ; and it may easily be imagined how, in a new 
State, under the new federal government, with this delay of 
an enforcement of the right for years, the right might be 
worthless, especially as the payment of claims which were al- 
lowed might be put ojQf for four years, when they would expire 
by the then existing statute of limitations. In South Carolina 
a different plan was adopted, at the suggestion of influential 
planters. The proprietors of the cotton gin proposed to the 
legislature, to relinquish their patent-right for the use of the 
citizens of the State, in consideration of $100,000. This 
proposal was made in December, 1801. The legislature of- 
fered $50,000 ; $20,000 to be paid in hand, and the remainder 
in three annual instalments of $10,0C0 each. This offer was 
accepted, though Mr. Whitney writes in respect to it : " This 
is selling the right at a great sacrifice. If a regular course of 
law had been pursued, from two to three hundred thousand 
dollars would undoubtedly have been recovered. The use of 
the machine here is amazingly extensive, and the value of it 
is beyond calculation. It may, without exaggeration, be said 
to have raised the value of seven eighths of all the three 
Southern States from fifty to a hundred per cent. "We get 
but a song for it in comparison with the worth of the thing ; 
but it is securing something." 

Thus, after more than seven years after the patent was 
issued, and when its time to run had more than half expired, 
it returned to its owners twenty thousand dollars in hand, with 
the promise of thirty thousand more. It would be an insult 
to the common sense of our readers, to suppose it necessary to 
argue in detail the proposition that far more than this might 



310 COTTON planter's MANUAL. 

easily have been sunk, before this return, in the expenses of 
unsuccessful suits, and in the unproductive capital that had 
been invested in the enterprise of manufacturing and working 
the gins, which, having no protection of law, would, of course, 
be of little worth to their owners. A year after the bargain 
with the State of South Carolina, in December, 1802, the right 
was sold to ISTorth Carolina, the legislature imposing an annual 
tax of two shillings and sixpence on every saw, for the benefit 
of the patentee. Some of the gins contained forty satvs, and 
the tax was to be collected for five years. The cultivation of 
cotton was at that time limited ; but, in consideration of the 
use that was made of the gin, this Avas thought to be the 
most liberal compensation that was offered from any service. 
Another sale, on similar terms, was made to the State of 
Tennessee the year following, 1803, the legislature imposing 
an annual tax of 3t|- cents on every saw, for four years.* 

This bright dawning of a better day, though deferred so long, 
was not unclouded, even when it at last appeared. While Mr. 
Whitney was negotiating with North Carolina, he learned that 
South Carolina had repented of its just resolve — had suspended 
the payment of the balance due him, and had instituted a suit 
for the recovery of what he had already received. At about 
the same time, the Governor of Georgia, in his annual mes- 
sage, took very decided ground against any grant to the 

* We have before us the Aurora and General Advertiser, published daily 
at Fraukford, dated Sept. 3, 1802, in which there is a detailed account of a 
meeting of the citizens of Nashville, Tennessee, July 21, of which General 
Andrew Jackson was chairman, and the account of which is signed by him as 
such. After a preamble, the meeting resolved, " That it will tend much to 
the agricultural and commercial interests of this State, that the legislature, at 
their next session, purchase the patent-right of the said saw gin, for the use 
and benefit of its citizens, and lay a tax on the makers and users of said gins, 
to discharge the said sum which may be contracted, to be given to the 
patentees for the patent-right aforesaid," Sec, &c. 



HISTORY OF THE COTTOX GIX. 311 

patentee. A committee of the legislature, to whom this part 
of the message was referred, reported strongly in its favor, and 
nrged united action, on the part of the then Southern States, 
[Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Tennessee,] to resist 
the grievance of the patent, as likely to depress " the culture 
and cleaning of the precious and increasing staple," or to pe- 
tition the General Government to make just compensation to 
the inventor. Tennessee followed the example of South 
Carolina, and suspended the payment of the stipulated tax ; 
while North Carolina adopted a resolution " that the contract 
ought to be fulfilled with punctuality and good faith." The 
grounds of this hostile movement on the part of South Carolina, 
were, first, a technical failure on the part of the patentees to 
fulfil some stipulation in the contract ; and, second, a real sus- 
picion of the originality of the invention, it being contended 
all over the South that such a machine had been seen in use 
in Switzerland forty years before, for the purpose of picking 
rags to make lint and paper. The tide in South Carolina, 
however, soon turned, and in the year 1804 the legislature 
confirmed their original contract. About this time Mr. Miller 
died, leaving Whitney to struggle alone. He at last triumphed 
in the State of Georgia, and obtained a decision vindicating 
his patent, in December, 1807, just about a year before the 
expiration of his right ; and the year following, as the right 
was expiring, two other suits were gained. In all of them 
the originality of the invention was triumphantly established, 
and the rights of the patentee were clearly asserted. These 
decisions were, however, too late. But the fact that they had 
been delayed so long, was not the most painful aggravation. 
This arose from the circumstance that, for nearly thirteen 
years, his time and physical strength, and his mental energy, 
were absorbed in this vexatious enterprise of contending for 
his rights. More than sixty suits had been brought, before a 



312 COTTON PLANTER'S MANUAL. 

single decision was obtained wliicli vindicated tliese rights. 
He had made six journeys from New-Haven to Georgia — sev- 
eral by land — some of which involved the severest exposure 
to his health and the hazard of his life. It is the testimony 
of a gentleman who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Whit- 
ney's affairs at the South, and whom he consulted as a legal 
adviser, that, " in all his experience in the thorny profession of 
the law, he had never seen such a case of perseverance under 
such persecutions ; nor," he adds, " do I believe that I ever 
knew any other man who could have met them with equal 
coolness and firmness, or who would finally have. obtained even 
the partial success which he had. He always called on me in 
New York, on his way South, when going to attend his endless 
trials, and to meet the mischievous contrivances of men who 
seem inexhaustible in their resources of evil. Even now, after 
thirty years, my head aches to recollect his narrations of new 
trials, fresh disappointments, and accumulated wrongs." 

In 1812, Mr. Whitney applied to Congress for the renewal 
of his patent. His memorial is long and able, stating the pain- 
ful story of his struggles, and the little profit that he had 
received. He says, that ''from no State had he received the 
amount of half a cent per pound on the cotton cleaned with 
his machine in one year. Estimating the value of the labor 
of one man at twenty cents per day, the whole amount which 
had been received by him for his invention, was not equal to 
the value of the labor saved in one hour by his machines then 
in use in the United States." " The invention has already 
trebled the value of the land through a great extent of terri- 
tory, and the degree to which the cultivation of cotton may 
still be augmented, is altogether incalculable." *' In short," to 
quote the language of Judge Johnson, of South Carolina, " if 
we should assert that the benefits of this invention exceed one 
hundred millions of dollars, we can prove the assertion by 



HISTORY OF THE COTTOX GIN, 313 

correct calculation." " There is no probability that the patentee, 
if the term of his patent were extended for twenty years, would 
ever obtain for his invention one-half as much as many an 
individual will gain by the use of it. Up to the present time, 
the whole amount of what he has acquired from this source, 
(after deducting his expenses,) does not exceed one-half the 
sum which a single individual has gained by the use of the 
machine in one year. It is true that considerable sums have 
been obtained from some of the States where the machine is 
used ; but no small portion of these sums has been expended 
in prosecuting his claim in a State where nothing has been 
obtained, and where his machine has been used to the greatest 
advantage." 

This memorial was sustained by several distinguished in- 
dividuals from the cotton-growing districts, but it was not 
granted, and it was never renewed. 

This closes the history of the cotton gin, so far as the con- 
nection of its inventor with it is concerned. But it does not 
finish the history of Whitney's services to his country. In 
the year 1798, despairing of anything of consequence from his 
cotton gin, Whitne^^ embarked in a new enterprise, that of 
manufacturing arms for the government. He was ignorant of 
the details of the business, and as yet had no works at com- 
mand, no capital, and no workmen, and yet he ventured with 
clear and well sustained confidence in his own resources, into 
a business that was complicated, embarrassing, and new. The 
result was, the most complete success — or rather it might be 
said that he created this branch of manufactures anew. His 
methods were entirely new and peculiar, both in the allotment 
of the work, and in doing very much by machinery, of various 
and complicated construction, that had hitherto been done by 
the file, with an experienced eye and hand. The result was, 
that the several pieces of a musket, made at his establishment, 
14 



314 COTTON planter's manual. 

were so exactl}'- alike, that tlie smallest screw or spring fitted 
for one, is equally fitted for any and every other. These im- 
provements were introduced against much skepticism and 
many obstacles, into all the public and private armories of the 
Union ; and it is mainly owing to Whitney that the manufac- 
ture of arms by this government, is unsurpassed in any public 
armories in the world. There is, perhaps, no exhibition in the 
manufacture of metals, that is more beautiful and exciting, 
than that furnished in the armories at Springfield and Harper's 
Ferry, and it is Eli Whitney to whom these improvements arc 
owing. It was admitted by a former Secretary of War, in 
conversation with Mr. Whitney, that the annual saving, years 
ago, at the public armories, in consequence of Whitney's im- 
provements, was more than $25,000 a year. It was from this 
business that Whitney derived the greater portion of the estate 
which he accnmulated ; but it is believed that this estate 
amounted to hardly more than he enabled his country to save, 
at this moment, in her armories, in a single year. 

These improvements are not necessarily confined to the 
manufacture of arms, but are applicable, and have been ap- 
plied to the working of metals of every kind, and Whitney's 
memorials may be said to exist in every machine-shop in the 
land. 

The incidental benefits conferred by him upon the entire 
circle of the mechanic arts, and the interests connected with 
them, are not lightly to be esteemed. The elevation of these 
arts, and of those connected Avith them, in the estimation of 
the public, by the devotion to their advancement of so high a 
genius, and by the manifest demonstration of the fact, that the 
highest and most thorough mastery of science strengthens 
rather than weakens the hand of art, are felt, after the man 
who has exerted these influences is gone, and form no incon- 
siderable item in the sum total of the good which he has con- 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 3l5 

ferred upon liis race. It was certainly true in tlie case of 
Whitney, that his personal influence, and the weight of his 
example, were thus felt in his life-time, and have not ceased 
since his death. It is owing to his influence, and that of Hill- 
house, men of singular kindred spirits, in respect to the de- 
votion of energy and genius to the general improvement of 
the outward interests of man, that the City of Elms is so at- 
tractive to the eye of the stranger, in the outward indications 
of neatness and taste, which pertain to elevate every dwelling, 
and are seen along every street, and that these external ap- 
pearances are found, on a close observation, to be so sure an 
index of the intelligent industry, and the frugal thrift of the 
citizens. 

But the great gift of Whitney to his country and his race, 
was the gift of the cotton gin ; and it is for this that he will 
deserve to be cherished lougest in their honorable remem- 
brance, and in their grateful homage. We have seen that 
there was something singularly interesting in the manner and 
circumstances of the invention. By far the greater number 
of inventions, come of accidental suggestion, or are completed 
by gradual improvements, or result from the application of 
machinery already in being to a new purpose ; but in the case 
of this of Whitney's, there was the contemplation of a great 
desideratum, proposed as the worthy subject for a trained and 
powerful genius ; then there was the cheerful devotion of the 
mind to meet this want, and then the speedy, the easy, and 
the successful triumph. 

But the value of the gift deserves our consideration. We 
have spoken of it as a gift of Whitney to his country and to 
his race. What then did Whitney give to his country ? 

He gave to his country, directly, all the increased value 
which the public lands of the cotton-growing States have re- 
ceived by the invention. So soon as this invention was made 



316 COTTON planter's manual. 

known, and its adequacy was fully established, the inland 
districts of the south and south-west at once rose immensely 
in value, and the extensive public lands of the United States 
rose with them. Whatever, therefore, the government, as a 
direct owner of property, which it offers for sale, has received, 
or is yet to receive from this advance upon its property, that 
has been and will be put into her treasury, by the gift of Eli 
Whitney ; of what the value of his gift to her in this form has 
been, and is to be, some idea may be formed from a remark 
of Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Whitney, not long after the purchase 
of Louisiana, that the increased value of the lands of the 
United States, in consequence of the cotton gin, had at that 
time (this was ten years after the invention), been more than 
sufficient to pay the cost of that territory. How many times 
fifteen millions of dollars have since been added to the value 
of the public domain, by the increased culture of cotton, and 
the widening market for it, can neither be estimated nor con- 
jectured. 

W^hitney gave to his country its greatest staple production, 
and the means of an extensive and profitable trade with Eng- 
land. Though the cotton plant had been known before the 
days of Herodotus, and though the green seed or upland cotton 
had been known from this early period, yet, as an article of 
commerce, it never had been known till this method of clean- 
ing was discovered. A few statistics need only be given to 
show the immense value of the production, which was created 
by this invention, and of the trade which has grown out of it. 
In the year 1791, the whole cotton crop of the United States 
was 2,000,000 lbs. In 1845, it was more than 1,000,000,000. 
In 1791 the United States produced o_ls of the cotton produced 
in the world. In 1845, it produced more than I of the pro- 
duct of the world. 

1793, the year of the invention, the whole crop was 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 317 

5,000,000 lbs., and the c[uantity exported was 487,600 lbs. 
In 1794, the jqb.x after, the crop was 8,000,000, and the ex- 
portation was 1,601,760 lbs. In 1800, six years after, the 
crop was 35,000,000, and 17,789,803 were exported. In 1810, 
two years before Whitney applied for the renewal of his pa- 
tent, the crop was 85,000,000 lbs. ; and of upland cotton, 
84,657,384 lbs. were exported. In 1845, the entire crop was 
1,029,850,000 lbs. ; 862,580,000 lbs. were exported, and 167,- 
270,000 lbs. were consumed at home. Cotton has been for 
many years not only one of the staples but the great staple 
for export. For many years past, it has constituted from one 
half to seven-tenths of the entire exports of the Union. 

These facts speak for themselves. They tell us that the 
planters of the south owe it to the cotton gin, that, for half a 
century past, they have been able to raise and send to mar- 
ket their great staple, and that it is to Whitney that they are 
indebted for the great estates they have accumulated, and the 
ample incomes which they have so generally expended. 
Whatever wealth the country has received in the increase of 
individual estates, the country owes to the inventor of the 
cotton gin. These statistics tell us, that whatever has been 
made by the immense trade between this country and its 
great customer on the other side of the sea, is mainly owing 
to the same invention. The shipper of the cotton owes to him 
the profits on his freights. The importer the profits on goods, 
which he has been able to buy with cotton ; and the govern- 
ment, the revenue which she has exacted on these goods j as 
well as the immense advantage which she has gained from 
having so abundant a staple of her own, with which to pay 
for the imports which she has received. The manufacturers 
of cotton too, whether at the north, they drive their magnifi- 
cent establishments, receive their splendid dividends,- or 
whether at the south, they are inspired by the hope of the 



318 COTTON rLANTER'S MANUAL. 

same success, in their vigorous, tlioiigb infant enterprises; the 
busy troops of operators whom they pay, and the neighbor- 
ing farmers who find a ready market for their produce, all 
owe it to the same genius, that they have the material art,\ 
of which to bring these larger or humbler returns. All that 
prosperity, too, which results from the combined and har- 
monious working of the producing, the commercial, and the 
manufacturing interests, as far as these interests have been 
dependent on the cultivation of cotton, has received its im- 
pulse from this invention, and owes its acknowledgment to 
Eli Whitney. 

We have seen what Whitney has given to his country. 
The question is very natural, what has he receivedyrom that 
country ? It was his own testimony, as asserted by an inti- 
mate friend, Professor Sllllman, and that testimony was given 
in his hearing near the close of life, that the disease, which 
cut short his life, was brought on by exposure and fatigue 
during the last of his land journeys, to assert his just claims 
so long injuriously frustrated. He received then, first of all, 
the termination of his life in the midst of those domestic en- 
joyments which had been so long deferred in consequence of 
the delay of I1I5 just rights, and in the possession of that for- 
tune, the acquisition of which he had been forced to put off 
till the noon of his days. 

So far as a pecuniary return is concerned, he received 
nothing; fur it was also his dying testimony, that " all he had 
received for the invention of the cotton gin had not more than 
compensated him for the enormous expenses which he had 
incurred, and for the time which he had devoted, during many 
of the best years of his life, in the prosecution of this subject." 
On such a subject as this, Mr. Whitney was not likely to 
exaggerate ; his mind was too self-possessed, and his integrity 
too uncorrupt to allow him to yield to the gloom of disappoint- 



HISTORY OF THE COTTON GIN. 319 

ment, or the violence of passion. His cheerful application to 
new fields of enterprise ; his ready and generous forwardness 
to serve his friends, his country, and his race, with no pros- 
pect of return, and the courteous hospitality with which he 
received and returned the warm esteem of gentlemen from all 
parts of the Union, as well as the fact that this esteem was so 
lavishly bestowed upon him — all show that his views of this 
subject were neither morbid nor selfish. When, therefore, he 
said, as he did deliberately, that he "felt that his just claims 
on the cotton-growing States, especially on those that had 
made him no returns for this invention, so important to this 
country, were still unsatisfied, and that both justice and honor 
required that compensation should be made" — we should feel 
assured that his testimony but expressed the truth in the 
case — if all the particulars which we have enumerated did not 
both suggest and confirm the same conclusion. 

It is not necessary to go at lenghth into the reasons of his 
failure to receive the just compensation for his eminent ser- 
vices. Many can be imagined in the then infant state of the 
country, and the unsettled judgments of men in regard to the 
rights of discoverers, and the unequal action of patents, and 
in their jealous opposition to monopolies, without supposing a 
decided and deliberate purpose to defraud or wrong a man 
from whom the gotton-growers had received their all. We are 
quite certain that the State of Georgia, at this moment, would 
be as far from such injustice as any other in the Union. And 
if the question were presented to her now, whether she owed 
no debt to the inventor, she could not, in the view of her 
whitening cotton fields, and in the hearing of the noise of her 
own cotton mills, but generously acknowledge the obligation. 
It is not, however, an obligation for any one State. The 
whole Union is too much indebted to the great invention to 
be content to leave the obligation to be cancelled by any one 



320 COTTON planter's manual. 

of its sisterliood. The name of Whitney is too intimately as- 
sociated with her honor, and with her unexampled growth 
and prosperity, to be remembered by her with any other than 
the profoundest gratitade. 

We do not approve of lavish or indiscriminate testimonials 
to the honor of the living or the deceased, who have deserved 
well of their country ; but that such a testimonial ought to be 
rendered to suchi a man, who has added uncounted millions to 
her wealth, is too clear to be argued. We are bold to say, 
that to no man, whether living or dead, does she owe more for 
her physical prosperity and wealth, than to the subject of 
these remarks. We trust the time may come when an op- 
portunity will be furnished to repay this obligation, and the 
name of Whitney shall not be coupled with the ingratitude or 
neglect of tins great and free people. 

Upon his tomb-stone there is the following appropriate in- 
scription : — '* Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin. 
Of useful science and arts, the efficient patron and improver. 
In the social relations of life, a model of excellence. While 
private affection weeps at his tomb, his country honors his 
memory." His country honors his memory ! Let it be seen 
that she does, not by idly bending over his tomb, nor by laud- 
ing his name by verbal adulation, but with generous and 
united zeal testifying to his famil}^, some substantial token, 
that she appreciates the genius and services of the man who 
has contributed so much to her prosperity. — Democratic 
Review. 



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